,The Board found a great deal of variability among 
the laboratories. The research, for example, at the 
larger fishery laboratories was largely of excellent 
quality whereas the quality of the research at some of 
the small fishery laboratories was disappointing, 
often as a result of isolation from other scientists 
doing similar work. The quality of research at ERL 
laboratories was generally good-to-excellent by com- 
parison with the rest of the ocean science commu- 
nity. However, the Board concluded the application 
of ocean science results to operational programs 
within NOAA could be improved. The Board also 
found that, at some ERL and other nonfishery 
laboratories, ties with universities and other ocean- 
ographic institutions were frequently deficient and 
that the quality of some of the research at several 
laboratories suffered because the efforts of research- 
ers were spread too thinly to be effective. NOAA is 
now considering the recommendations of the Ocean 
Sciences Board. 
Laboratories of Other Ocean-Related Agencies 
Although NOAA operates the greatest number of 
laboratories, most of the other agencies involved in 
marine science and technology maintain in-house 
laboratories as well (table 7—2). After NOAA, the 
agencies operating the most laboratories involved in 
maritime R&D are the Navy, NASA, the Depart- 
ment of Energy, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (FWS) of the Department of the Interior. 
FWS laboratories are committed to research on 
Great Lakes ecology, coastal ecosystems, and the 
culture and ecology of Atlantic and Pacific salmon 
and other anadromous fish. The Department of 
Energy has eight contractor-operated laboratories in 
research and development relating to energy technol- 
ogy and nuclear research. 
In cooperative ventures with other Federal agen- 
cies having major ocean programs, NASA supports 
the conduct of marine-related research activities at 
several of its Field Centers. This work is directed to 
the development, testing, and demonstration of aero- 
space remote sensing technology applications and to 
the acquisition of information on dynamic ocean 
processes and phenomena. 
Navy in-house laboratories have a variety of re- 
search, development, test, and evaluation projects 
to improve materials, equipment, techniques, and 
operational engineering and weapons systems needed 
in naval operations. Much of the Navy’s R&D is 
dedicated to acoustical research or engineering devel- 
opment of seafloor facilities, submersibles, and man- 
in-the-sea technology. 
University-Related Laboratories 
To capitalize on the mutual benefits that can ac- 
crue from cooperation between the Government and 
academic institutions, the Environmental Protection 
Agency is required, by statute, to establish labora- 
tories near universities with research programs. Other 
mission agencies have also located in-house facilities 
in the vicinity of or in conjunction with university 
programs to encourage the infusion of academic 
talent and resources into their problem-oriented 
marine science programs. The Stratton Commission 
noted that this trend often works to the benefit of 
both the Federal and the academic laboratories and 
suggested that the trend should be encouraged.’* 
All of the mission agencies support university 
research to supplement the work of their in-house 
laboratories. Most of these contract studies are 
problem-oriented, although discipline-oriented re- 
search is funded by some agencies in scientific areas 
relevant to their missions. The National Science 
Foundation, the Navy, NOAA, and the Department 
of Energy support the largest discipline-oriented pzo- 
grams. 
A wide variety of large and small State and private 
universities participate in Federally-supported ma- 
rine science programs. Some 100 colleges and uni- 
versities offer graduate programs in the marine 
sciences, ocean engineering, or closely related sub- 
jects.'® Most, if not all, of these institutions are in- 
volved in marine research, but many of their pro- 
grams are of modest scale. 
The Stratton Commission, in reviewing the progress 
of the marine sciences, noted the outstanding contri- 
butions of a few large oceanographic laboratories. 
This preeminence was attributed to the multidiscipli- 
nary nature of ocean science investigations, which re- 
quire broad institutional support to research in distant 
waters and rely on sophisticated and complex facil- 
ities. The Commission concluded that a small num- 
ber of geographically distributed, large marine 
science centers was needed. It recommended that 
these centers be established and equipped with the 
facilities necessary for global and regional marine 
research programs and that they be “assured of ade- 
quate institutional funding for continuity and main- 
tenance of both programs and facilities.” ** 
Although not on the scale envisioned by the Strat- 
ton Commission, a type of institutional funding of 
marine science laboratories for deep-ocean research 
is provided by NSF and the Navy through their ship 
support programs. The amounts received by insti- 
tutions, however, are closely tied to the ship require- 
ments of research projects funded by these agencies. 
Additional university support, part of it institutional, 
is provided by the NOAA Sea Grant Program.'® 
12 Our Nation and The Sea, op.cit. note 6, p. 29. 
1% U.S. Interagency Committee on Marine Science and Engi- 
neering of the Federal Council for Science and Technology. 
University Curricula in the Marine Sciences and Related Fields— 
Academic Years: 1975-1976, 1976-1977. Doc/Kaufman DeBell 
Printing, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., 1975. 
11 Our Nation and the Sea, op.cit., note 6, p. 27. 
15 National Sea Grant College and Programs Act, 33 U.S.C. 
1121-1124. : 
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