Recommendations: 
19. Fisheries production technology should be 
developed through greater emphasis on engineering 
to permit U.S. fishermen to supply a much greater 
fraction of the domestic market. An expanded 
program should be undertaken to improve vessels, 
fish catching gear, and methods. Laws governing 
fisheries management should focus on controlling 
the total catch rather than restricting the use of 
improved equipment and harvesting methods. For 
overfished stocks, emphasis should be placed on 
technical support of biological research and on 
modification of existing fishing equipment for use 
in other fisheries. For stocks not in danger of 
depletion, efforts should be concentrated on gear 
development, vessel design, survey, and fish loca- 
tion technology. A substantial share of the pro- 
gram budget should be used for contract studies 
by industry and private institutions. 
20. The U.S. Government should sponsor contin- 
uing surveys of promising coastal and distant 
fishery resources, including sport fisheries, to 
determine the potential of under-utilized species, 
to provide information for fish location and 
harvesting equipment design applicable to these 
species, and to support negotiation of inter- 
national fisheries agreements and treaties. 
21. The promise of aquaculture should be pursued 
with such development efforts as selective breed- 
ing, control of temperature and nutrients, and 
containment techniques. Aquaculture projects 
should be established, in existing laboratories 
where feasible, to emphasize engineering appli- 
cable to freshwater, nearshore, and open sea 
systems. 
2. Oil and Gas 
Offshore oil and gas industry initiative has 
developed a major nongovernmental marine sci- 
ence and engineering program. Much of the result- 
ant technology will be applicable to future 
Government and other industry ocean programs. 
Offshore production continues to move into 
progressively greater depths. During 1969, explora- 
tory drilling is expected in water depths of 1,300 
feet and production established in as deep water as 
400 feet. Within 10 years, such systems as remote 
control undersea core drilling rigs may be in 
VI-12 
operation. Mainly because of power requirements 
exploration and production wells will continue to 
be drilled from the surface. An increasing number 
of production wells and fields will be completed 
beneath the surface, making increasing use of 
acoustically controlled undersea equipment. 
Technology has so advanced that specially 
designed barges can weld, X-ray, externally coat, 
and lay pipelines. Five thousand miles of pipe, 
from small 2-inch flow lines to 26-inch trunk lines, 
now traverse the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. To 
date, pipe laying has been limited to 340 feet in 
medium diameter (12 inch) pipe and 100 feet in 
large diameter (48 inch) pipe. 
Major oil spills from tankers have been a costly 
hazard, in some cases disastrous and causing 
international repercussions. Even such lesser oil 
discharges as cleaning tanks or pumping bilges on 
the high seas have detrimental effects on beaches 
and coastlines. 
Recommendations: 
22. A mechanism should be established to ensure 
optimum information exchange between the U.S. 
Government and the petroleum industry. 
23. Results of such Government undersea tech- 
nology programs as biomedicine to support ad- 
vanced diving, fundamental undersea technology, 
and reconnaissance mapping and charting should 
be available to the petroleum industry to help 
expand operations to deeper water and reduce 
operation risks and costs. Technology efforts 
should be expanded to improve Government serv- 
ices in environmental prediction and modification, 
particularly regarding hurricanes and sediment 
behavior and transport. 
24. The government must ensure development of 
improved methods to minimize the possibility of 
oil spills, optimize clean-up measures, and identify 
the responsible polluters. Contingency plans 
should be prepared to permit immediate action to 
contain and clean up major oil spills. 
3. Chemical Extraction and Desalination 
Magnesium metal, magnesium compounds, and 
bromine are extracted from sea water commer- 
cially, supplying 90, 34, and 50 per cent respec- 
tively of the U.S. market. Desalination effluents 
