shelves must be given high priority in any national 
ocean program. Legal rights of industries operating 
on the continental shelves are particularly vague. 
Conflicts over jurisdiction among individuals, 
States, and the U.S. Government and between the 
United States and foreign nations over sovereignty 
on the shelf have created a climate of legal 
uncertainty hindering private investment and tech- 
nological development. 
Various agencies of the U.S. Government have 
programs in ocean research and development. In 
particular the Navy has recently increased its 
efforts through establishment of the Deep Submer- 
gence Systems Project and the Deep Ocean Tech- 
nology Program. The Sea Grant Program, under 
way in 1968, is expanding Federal Government 
support of applied marine sciences. 
The present relationship among the govern- 
ment, industry, and academic world in marine 
programs needs strengthening. Expanding interests 
of industry in the ocean environment and the 
importance of these interests to the economic 
well-being of the United States argue for a strong 
non-military Government ocean services program 
and a guarantee of offshore protection. Govern- 
ment-sponsored technology development efforts 
should emphasize improved and less costly 
methods, thereby enabling ocean industries to 
operate profitably and also provide increased tax 
revenues. 
Fundamental technology development cannot 
be effective without close coordination with the 
industrial and academic sectors. A continuing 
mechanism should be established through which 
the industrial, financial, and academic commu- 
nities readily can advise on marine science, engi- 
neering, and technology. Advice is needed in 
fundamental technology, facilities, manpower, and 
national goals and projects. More specifically, a 
relationship similar to that which existed between 
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 
(NACA) and its advisory panels would be de- 
sirable. 
B. Civilian—Military 
Effective civilian-military interchange of tech- 
nology is obviously useful to both parties. Inde- 
pendent research and development programs con- 
ducted by defense contractors normally have two 
objectives: (1) keeping a company’s products and 
components technically advanced to maintain a 
competitive position and (2) applying technical 
skills and experience to solving known military 
problems. Military technology developments often 
are applicable to civilian endeavors. 
Often a simple solution to a technical problem 
can open the door to major systems applications. 
However, because of security classification, ad- 
vances in the state-of-the-art can be withheld from 
other potential users. Overclassification unneces- 
sarily slows communications and can cause unin- 
tentional duplication of effort when civilian indus- 
try is not apprised of military developments. 
Devising means of transferring technology and 
bringing about utilization of that technology for 
purposes other than those for which it was 
developed have become activities of national im- 
portance requiring continued high level attention. 
The transfer problem can occur within either the 
civilian or military sector as well as between them. 
Research and development in the marine sci- 
ences constitutes a rapidly increasing and relatively 
unexploited resource. Effective transfer of tech- 
nology can increase the rate of economic growth, 
create new employment opportunities, and aid the 
international competitive position of American 
industry. 
Furthermore, technology is a tool that the 
United States can use to aid other nations striving 
to improve their standards of living. Ocean tech- 
nology is particularly suitable to technology trans- 
fer. First, marine activities are global in perspec- 
tive and application. The Gulf Stream that washes 
Florida shores eventually influences the climate 
and ecology of England, Norway, and the North 
Sea. Second, marine problems are relatively new to 
the community of advanced science and engineer- 
ing, and few institutional barriers have been 
erected. 
Traditional means of transferring technology 
include the movement of knowledgeable people 
and technical literature coupled with the normal 
activities of libraries, technical journals, profes- 
sional symposiums, corporations, and govern- 
ments. These are key activities, but because of the 
extreme technical diversity of the oceans and the 
large numbers of present and potential users of 
marine data, more is needed. It is necessary to 
construct and implement channels of distribution 
and methods of retrieval of these technical data, 
particularly from government to industrial users. 
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