sciences and engineering; presumably a substantial increase must wait until industry can see the 

 possibility of greater returns from its marine operations. 



B. Coordination of Federal Activities 



The Interagency Committee on Oceanography and more recently the Committee on Marine Research, 

 Education, and Facilities of the National Council have made many contributions to improved 

 coordination of Federal activities in support of marine education and training. Nevertheless, one of this 

 study's major conclusions is that a stronger mechanism is needed for obtaining and analyzing data on 

 education and training programs and manpower needs and for coordinating Federal activities to support 

 the education and training of marine personnel. 



An urgent need is for a better system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information 

 relating to training programs and needs. Data which have been assembled are subjected to inordinate 

 delay before release to the public. In a field as small and as vital as the marine sciences, it should be 

 possible to maintain and pubhsh comprehensive statistics on manpower; on Federal, State, and local 

 funding; and on education and training programs. 



This study therefore recommends that a Marine Statistics Center be established within one 

 Government agency, that this office have a separate staff and budget to carry out its responsibilities, and 

 that other Federal agencies be directed to coordinate their activities with this center and to supply it 

 continuously with statistics of their own organization's activites in the marine area. 



A program for marine education and training should be established within the context of the National 

 plan recommended by the Marine Science Commission. The program need not have a central funding 

 function; in fact existing Federal funding arrangements, or a system approximating them, appear 

 adequate. But one Federal agency should contain a central coordinating body to study total needs, 

 balance Federal agency funding activities, and prepare and administer a National marine education and 

 training plan consistent with changing needs in the marine environment. Hence it is recommended that 

 an Office of Marine Education, Training, and Manpower should be established with responsibilities to: 



—Organize and maintain a Marine Statistics Center to coordinate marine education and training facilities 

 within the Government and to serve as a clearing house for applications to graduate and undergraduate 

 programs in marine science and engineering. The Center would maintain an inventory of Federal and 

 non-Federal funding efforts, keep funding agencies informed of other organizations activities, and 

 maintain an inventory of shore facilities and vessels used for education and training programs. It would 

 systematically analyze manpower trends in marine-related activities and would issue periodic projections 

 on the nature and scope of marine education and training efforts. 



—Be responsible for evaluating manpower and educational statistics and programs for projecting marine 

 manpower needs, and for planning and recommending programs to provide enough competent personnel. 



—Serve as a coordinating body for scheduling use of Federally funded, shore-based or ship facilities by 

 two or more institutions. 



C. Future Funding Needs 



This study does not recommend that an emergency program be undertaken at this time in marine 

 education and training. It recognizes the need for increased emphasis in certain aspects of the field and 

 for provision for more ship and shore-based facilities for education and training activities. It is also 

 cognizant that the current rate of annual growth of the marine science effort in the Nation may, before 

 long, begin to rise sharply in response to the Commission's recommended program and/or to new sources 

 of economic wealth in the oceans. Increased demand for trained personnel in various marine categories 

 will strain marine institutions' education and training facUities, but there is no indication that these 

 institutions will not be able to adjust to such long-term demands. 



IV-13 



