Chapter 4 Ocean Industries 
|. INTRODUCTION 
The panel has placed major emphasis on re- 
source industries (oil, natural gas, mining, fishing, 
and aquaculture), recognizing, however, that such 
other users of the ocean as the recreation and 
transportation industries also are immensely im- 
portant. Sea transportation is discussed in this 
chapter in general terms. A detailed discussion of 
recreation is found in the Report of the Marine 
Resources Panel. 
Since healthy and growing primary user and 
resource industries should foster sound supporting 
industries, each support and service industry has 
not been discussed individually. Instrument pro- 
duction, petroleum drilling, pipeline laying, diving, 
salvage, and weather prediction are among the 
many support and service activities. To illustrate 
the problems faced by one such industry, the 
panel has included a section on instruments since 
the need for instruments pervades all other indus- 
tries. 
Several resource activities—chemicals from sea 
water, seaweeds, and marine pharmaceuticals—are 
mentioned only in this introduction. 
A. Chemical Extraction from Sea Water 
Chemical extraction from sea water constitutes 
a successful industry with no major problems 
requiring Government action.’ Salt, bromine, mag- 
nesium metal, and magnesium compounds are the 
only major inorganic chemicals presently ex- 
tracted. These industries, well-established in the 
United States, compete favorably with land-based 
operations. For example, magnesium metal ex- 
tracted from sea water accounts for over 90 per 
cent of total U.S. production, while bromine 
represents approximately half. These large shares 
of the market are produced in a single facility in 
Freeport, Texas. Salt production from sea water is 
centered in California. In addition, eight domestic 
plants rely on the ocean as a source of raw 
material to produce magnesium compounds. The 
‘Such extraction is discussed in greater detail in the 
Report of the Panel on Marine Engineering and Technol- 
ogy. 
approximate value of chemicals extracted from the 
water column adjacent to the United States is 
estimated at $127 million.” 
B. Seaweeds 
Domestic harvesting of various seaweeds and 
extraction of many derivatives has evolved into a 
business with annual activity estimated by the 
panel in excess of $25 million. Algin, carrageenin, 
and agar are the most important commercial 
derivatives, but there are many others. They are 
utilized in many chemical processes, often in 
conjunction with the manufacture of food and 
cosmetic products including gelatin desserts, 
jams, baby foods, and toothpaste. In addition, 
kelp and other seaweeds have been used as 
fertilizer in an unprocessed form. Most seaweed 
harvested is brown kelp from California. 
In addition to harvesting natural seaweed, it is 
anticipated that aquaculture techniques will sup- 
plement the supply by growing some types of 
marine algae. There is, for example, a potential for 
raising and processing seaweed in ponds and rivers 
for ultimate use as animal feed. 
C. Pharmaceuticals 
The properties of marine bioactive substances 
have attracted widespread interest and appear to 
pose considerable promise regarding the preven- 
tion, treatment and cure of human ills.* Although 
the pharmaceuticals industry has sponsored some 
research there is little expressed interest in the 
marine pharmaceutical segment. Industry spokes- 
men have stated that most drug companies have 
many more research opportunities than they could 
possibly undertake, and the most promising of 
2 This represents the combined annual value of sea 
water production of salt ($8 million), magnesium metal 
($57 million), bromine ($30 million), and magnesium 
compounds ($32 million). In addition, desalination of sea 
water in this country yields $8 million of potable water. 
W.F. MclIlhenny, “Chemicals from Sea Water,” Proceed- 
ings of the Inter-American Conference on Materials 
Technology, May 1968, p. 119. 
3 Report of the Panel on Oceanography, President’s 
Science Advisory Committee, ‘“‘Effective Use of the Sea,” 
June 1966, pp. 52-54. 
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