National Research Facilities 
The agencies of the Federal Government are orga- 
nized to provide services and regulate activities that 
achieve national goals. In agencies whose missions 
require a high degree of science and technology, 
research and development is a major component of 
many programs. Many of the agencies having ocean- 
related missions are in this category. 
While no clear distinction can be made between 
the research objectives of the Federal mission agen- 
cies and the university research enterprise, their 
respective roles have been described in terms of the 
dichotomy between applied research—the role of 
the Federal laboratories—and basic research—the 
primary role of the universities and academic re- 
search institutions. Actually, the basic and applied 
functions tend to be commingled in Federal, univer- 
sity, and industrial laboratories, and each contributes 
to the “whole” of science and technology, notwith- 
standing their traditionally described roles. Thus, 
it is neither useful nor accurate to attempt to define 
the respective roles of the Federal, university, and 
private sectors on the basis of either basic or applied 
research. 
Federal Research Laboratories 
Established to support the mission research of the 
Federal agencies, Federal research laboratories are 
the focal point for the in-house research programs of 
the ocean agencies (table 7-2). Federal laboratories 
range from small, single-purpose research facilities 
associated with academic institutions, to regional 
field facilities focusing on local problems. Some, 
such as the national laboratories operated by the 
Department of Energy and the NASA laboratories, 
are vast research complexes with broad research 
missions that require sophisticated equipment and 
high capital cost. 
The number of Federal laboratories increased 
dramatically during World War II, and in the post- 
war period as the Nation undertook a massive R&D 
program and sought to solve its environmental prob- 
lems. Although some Federal laboratories conduct 
basic investigations in areas of agency interest, most 
of their work is problem-oriented to meet mission 
requirements. 
In 1974, the investigating staff of the House Com- 
mittee on Appropriations cited a number of ex- 
amples of laboratory management that “clearly 
depict the underutilization, overbuilding, and dupli- 
cation of facilities and programs plaguing the 
Government’s research efforts.” * The staff singled 
out the Department of Defense as the only agency 
7 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations. Utili- 
zation of Federal Laboratories. Hearings before the Subcom- 
mittee on Agriculture-Environmental and Consumer Protection 
93d Congress, 2d Session, Pt. 6 p. V. III. 
centrally identifying in-house research and develop- 
ment resources and activities. Since 1966, the annual 
management analysis of the Director of Defense 
Research and Engineering has included compre- 
hensive data on funding, manpower, and facilities, 
as well as brief descriptions of each activity’s mis- 
sion, current problems, functions and equipment 
capabilities.’ In contrast, the Appropriations Com- 
mittee staff found that neither the Department of 
Commerce nor the National Oceanic and Atmos- 
pheric Administration (NOAA) had _ long-range 
facility planning mechanisms.° 
In response to the findings of the House Appro- 
priations Committee investigation, NOAA formu- 
lated a long-range plan for its laboratory facilities. 
The Facilities Master Plan, completed in January 
1975, describes the condition of the physical plant 
and equipment of each facility and assesses the need 
to update or otherwise improve the operation, in- 
cluding time and cost factors involved. 
Problems similar to those raised by the Appropri- 
ations Committee investigation were identified by the 
Stratton Commission, which concluded that many 
in-house laboratories were “too small to mount 
effective programs” and recommended “strengthen- 
ing them by adequate funding and staffing.” The 
Commission suggested that there be a “selective 
consolidation of marginal laboratories.” *° Since 
that time, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Serv- 
ice (NMFS) and the Navy, the two organizations 
operating the greatest number of laboratories, have 
consolidated several laboratories and closed others. 
NOAA _ Laboratories 
The most extensive agency network of marine 
science laboratories is that of NOAA, whose NMFS 
has 26 laboratories distributed along all the Nation’s 
coasts. Four of these laboratories are engaged in the 
improvement of fishery products technology, and 
one is involved in developing techniques for aqua- 
culture. The remaining laboratories, coupled with 
the NOAA fisheries research fleet, perform basic 
biological and environmental research as well as 
applied fisheries investigations. 
In addition to the NMFS laboratories, 14 labora- 
tories are managed by six other NOAA mission 
elements: The Environmental Research Laboratories 
(ERL), the National Ocean Survey (NOS), the 
National Environmental Satellite Service (NESS), 
the Office of Ocean Engineering (OOB), the National 
Weather Service, and the Environmental Data 
Service. Seven of the fourteen are ERL laboratories. 
ERL facilities are, in most instances, located at 
 Ibid., p. 6. 
9 Thid., p. 28. 
10 Our Nation and The Sea, op.cit. note 6, p. 29. 
VII-7 
