**Robert B. Gagosian**

**President, Consortium for Ocean Leadership**

**Testimony on the Reauthorization of the National Sea Grant College
Program**

**Before the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans**

**Committee on Natural Resources**

**United States House of Representatives**

**Washington, DC**

**April 3, 2008**

Good morning, Chairwoman Bordallo, Ranking Member Brown, members and
staff. Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify on the
National Sea Grant College Program. I am Dr. Robert Gagosian, President
of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Ocean Leadership is a
Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that represents 95 of the
leading public and private ocean research and education institutions,
aquaria and industry with the mission to advance research, education and
sound ocean policy.  The organization also manages ocean research and
education programs in areas of scientific ocean drilling, ocean
observing, ocean exploration, and ocean partnerships.

The Consortium for Ocean Leadership strongly supports H.R.
5618\--*National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2008.*
Within H.R. 5618, we particularly support the following provisions:

-   The linkage of Sea Grant strategic planning and priority setting
    process to the Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation
    Strategy (ORPPIS) released in January 2007 by the Joint Subcommittee
    on Ocean Science and Technology.

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-   Increased emphasis on regional collaboration and integrated
    research, education and extension; and

-   Strengthening of the review process consistent with the
    recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences.

As H.R. 5618 moves through the Committee to final passage, Ocean
Leadership would like members and staff to consider the following
modifications or additions:

-   Increase Sea Grant's reauthorization levels to grow to \$125 million
    over the next three to five years. These funding levels will
    directly benefit our nation's coastal communities, enhance Sea
    Grant's national agenda, and contribute to the sustainable
    management of our natural resources.

-   Request that the National Sea Grant Advisory Board investigate the
    pros and cons of extending the period for the John A. Knauss Marine
    Policy Congressional Fellowship from one to two years.

-   Include among the National Sea Grant Advisory Board duties to advise
    the Secretary and the Director about strategies for utilizing the
    Sea Grant College Program to implement the ORPPIS and its near-term
    priorities.

-   Develop an international Sea Grant Program and Fellowship that would
    promote capacity building and technology transfers to improve global
    ocean observing, fisheries management, bycatch reduction, habitat
    conservation, and coastal resiliency.

I will discuss each of these in more detail in my testimony.

**Background**

The Sea Grant Program was created by Congress in 1966. Sea Grant
sponsors research, education, outreach, and technology transfer through
a partnership between NOAA, thirty state Sea Grant programs, and over
300 universities and colleges. Sea Grant works with university
scientists, educators, and outreach specialists to conduct research and
develop science-based solutions to critical resource management,
development, and conservation issues facing our oceans, coasts, and
Great Lakes. Sea Grant is a highly-leveraged program. As a "match"
program it brings in an additional 50 cents on every federal dollar
spent by mandate; in actuality the leveraged match of most Sea Grant
Programs is far greater than the minimum required---demonstrating the
strong support that Sea Grant enjoys with the states. Sea Grant's focus
on applied research, education and outreach often generates projects
that meet local and national needs and provide information useful to
coastal businesses, marine industries, government, educators, and the
public. One of Sea Grant's strengths is that it advances formal and
informal education. Sea Grant programs deliver education and outreach
information on a wide range of topics and offer hands-on educational
experiences for students, and research-based curricula and
communications materials for students and the public.

**Increase the Authorized Levels in HR 5618**

Regrettably, the ability of Sea Grant to serve our nation is diminished
by insufficient funding. Ocean Leadership believes that competitive
research is the best means to devise science-based solutions to the
plethora of problems facing the oceans. At current levels, Sea Grant
cannot fund a substantial number (88%) of the meritorious proposals that
it receives. Moreover, coastal communities and decision-makers go
unserved as extension activities are curtailed and respected sources of
unbiased information are denied to our decision-makers, business
leaders, and the public at large. After more than three decades, Sea
Grant remains an underutilized resource. The U.S Commission on Ocean
Policy advocated that the Sea Grant network expand its roles and
responsibilities, particularly in education and outreach. However, it
noted that such an expanded and strengthened role is not possible with
Sea Grant's annual budget hovering between \$50 to \$63 million for more
than a decade. Therefore, Ocean Leadership is concerned that the
authorization levels contained in H.R. 5618 are insufficient. For
example, the authorization level for FY 09 of \$66 million represents a
33% reduction in Sea Grant's authorization level of \$85 million in
current law. Overall the proposed authorization levels fall short of
what is needed to address the ever-increasing needs and resource
management problems facing our nation's coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes.

It is important to note that the Land Grant College program, currently
administered by the Department of Agriculture, has a line item called
the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES).
For FY 2008, it is estimated that Land Grant Colleges and their
associate extension services will receive nearly \$1.2 billion in
funding under this line item for research, education, and extension and
integration services. Sea Grant, the analogous program for our oceans
and coasts, where more than 50% of the population lives, will receive by
comparison \$57 million or roughly 4.7 percent of the total for
Agriculture research and extension. The United States coastal regions
contribute more than 50% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product and
account for one out of every six jobs nationwide. The collective
economic

impact of the coastal economy far exceeds U.S. agriculture, yet, as
demonstrated the federal investments in Sea Grant colleges and
universities is disproportionately smaller than CSREES.

While it may be unrealistic to make the two programs equivalent,
Congress should act to close the gap between Sea Grant and CSREES.

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Ocean Leadership recommends that the National Sea Grant College Program
be reauthorized at a level of funding growth to reach \$125 million by
the year 2014. This level of funding is needed to enable Sea Grant to
support a robust, competitive, merit-based research program tied to
extension, communication, and education in which science-based
information is used to address societal problems and opportunities as
they relate to management, conservation, and sustainable use of our
coastal, marine, and Great Lakes resources.

**Extend the Period of the Knauss Fellowship to Two Years.**

The John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, established in 1979,
provides a unique educational experience to students who have an
interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national
policy decisions affecting those resources. The program matches highly
qualified graduate students with \"hosts\" in the legislative and
executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for
a one year paid fellowship. The program is named in honor of one of Sea
Grant\'s founders, former NOAA Administrator, John A. Knauss.

Knauss fellows make vital contributions to ocean policy in the
legislative and executive branches of government. More than 650 alumni
from John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program now hold positions
in NOAA, other partner agencies, the industry sector and
non-governmental organizations. This strong workforce is needed to solve
the major environmental challenges that face the nation and the planet.
Nevertheless, Ocean Leadership believes that the program would benefit
greatly if the period of the Congressional segment of the fellowship was
increased to two years. In a one year fellowship, fellows are just
becoming familiar and comfortable with the operation of either Congress
and don't have the time to make important contributions to ocean policy
and legislation. Given that Congress is on a two year cycle, fellows and
the Congressional offices or committees that they serve would benefit
from having these individuals for an entire Congress to track
authorizing legislation and appropriations which often span more than
one year. Ocean Leadership believes that fellows should have an option
to remain for an additional year. Therefore, Ocean Leadership recommends
that Congress direct the Sea Grant Advisory Board to review the pros and
cons of providing the opportunity of extending the term of the Knauss
Congressional fellowship from one to two years and provide their
recommendations to Congress.

**Increase Sea Grant's Alignment with the National Ocean Research
Priorities Plan**

Last January, the federal government released its interagency ocean
research priorities plan, "Charting the Course for Ocean Science in the
United States for the Next Decade: An Ocean Research Priorities Plan and
Implementation Strategy" (ORPPIS) which emphasizes the need for more
effective bridging of science and policy. This is the core of the Sea
Grant mission and distinguishes Sea Grant as a uniquely effective tool
for local, regional, and national decision-makers who are seeking
scientifically sound information to address novel emerging issues.

The research priorities are oriented around the most compelling issues
in key areas of interaction between society and the ocean (societal
themes). These priorities focus on understanding critical ocean
processes and interactions, and applying that understanding toward
stewardship and responsible use of the ocean. The themes are:

-   Stewardship of Natural and Cultural Ocean Resources;

-   Increasing Coastal Community Resilience to Natural Hazards;

-   Enabling Marine Operations;

-   The Ocean's Role in Climate;

-   Improving Ecosystem Health; and

-   Enhancing Human Health

Sea Grant is well positioned to contribute to the implementation of this
strategy and can play a major role in developing tools and technologies
to address these themes. Implementing this strategy will require a
national and international effort involving coordination among many
sectors of the ocean community, from state, local, and tribal governance
to academic institutions and nongovernmental organizations. It is these
types of partnerships that are Sea Grant's strong suit. Implementation
will also require the involvement of end users of scientific
information, including resource managers, public policy-makers, and
individual citizens, to enhance the impact and value of research
efforts. Again, Sea Grant can play a key role in translating scientific
concepts; and synthesizing its research, education, and extension
capabilities to support informed public and private decision-making and
resource management activities that will lead to a better understanding
of the oceans and improved ecosystem health.

By using the ORPPIS as an over-arching mechanism to set priorities,
individual states can link local needs to national priorities.
Currently, regional research priorities workshops and synthesis are
poised to integrate ORPPIS with local needs and interests. However, the
process for this priority setting using ORPPIS is unclear in the
legislation. Specifically, how the ORPPIS will contribute or be used to
develop regional research and information plans or strategic plans. One
area where the legislation could make this clarification is related to
the National Sea Grant Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is charged
with looking at the big picture and helping the national and state Sea
Grant college programs devise strategies and identify priorities.
Therefore, Ocean Leadership recommends that the National Sea Grant
Advisory Board include among its duties to advise the Secretary and the
Director about strategies for utilizing the Sea Grant College Program to
implement the ORPPIS and its near-term priorities. The National Sea
Grant Advisory Board could also assist the Secretary and the Director in
ensuring that these priorities and strategic plans formalize the
mechanisms necessary to implement and make progress on these plans.

**Develop an International Sea Grant Program and Fellowship to Build
Capacity and Transfer Technology**

In its 2004 report the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy recommended that:
"Congress should significantly expand the National Sea Grant College
Program as part of doubling ocean and coastal research funding."
President Bush's U.S. Ocean Action Plan states, "In response to direct
requests from interested foreign governments and universities, the
Administration will conduct a donors conference in Latin America, hold a
workshop in Southeast Asia, and develop a technical assistance plan in
North Africa in order to help introduce and adapt the successful U.S.
Sea Grant system of applied research, extension, and education to
countries in these regions. Sea Grant will help create a global network
of institutions dedicated to applying the knowledge and technologies
that lead to sustainable forms of coastal and marine resource
development and conservation."

The international reach of the National Sea Grant College Program has
been limited due to funding restrictions, but the potential to foster
international economic and environmental sustainability for the global
ocean is unlimited. Congress could amend HR 5618 to strengthen the
international component of Sea Grant. By creating an international
program and fellowship, Sea Grant could evolve to become a marine
research, outreach, and education version of the Peace Corps---a Sea
Corps. The Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act all
reference the need for international collaboration and cooperation,
capacity building, and technology transfer. With additional Federal
investment, this International Sea Grant Program and Fellowship could
improve international fisheries management, bycatch reduction, and
habitat conservation\-- it could enable NOAA to meet its Congressional
mandates and build capability to address international fisheries and
bycatch issues identified in these statutes.

By adapting the Sea Grant model of applied research, extension and
education to an international context, with increased funding, Congress
would take a progressive and significant step toward U.S. leadership in
global capacity building for ocean research, education, and resource
management. These international fellowships could become the mechanism
to train international scientists and provide nations with the tools and
personnel needed to develop ocean observing infrastructure to better
understand ocean processes and climate change, improve coastal
resiliency, guard against habitat destruction, and to conserve and
manage international marine resources. An international Sea Grant
fellowship could expand programs of scholarships to study abroad,
transfer technology, engage in collaborative research, and continue
programs of professional development. It could provide scientists and
managers in foreign nations with practical field experience that in turn
could result in improved marine wildlife population assessments,
management plans, bycatch estimates, and increased development of
international ocean observing systems. These international fellowships
will promote ocean research education, outreach, and conservation
projects that will provide critical information, and significantly
increase capacity building and technology transfer to promote marine
resource conservation and management and improve our understanding of
the ocean, coasts, and climate change.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the Sea Grant program has repeatedly demonstrated its
utility and value. Its reauthorization and increased funding is critical
to the needs of coastal communities and the efforts of local and
national decision-makers tasked to conserve and manage the
sustainability of their marine resources in an increasing environment of
resources use and marine environmental change. Sea Grant is a wise
investment in our nation's ability to respond to our burgeoning coastal
populations and the associated challenges of international marine
resource management and capacity building. Sea Grant's competitive
research can meet both local needs and the national research priorities
embodied in the ORPPIS and provide vital information to decision-makers.
State Sea Grant extension programs are rooted in our coastal communities
where they can engage citizens and local decision-makers to better
understand the ocean and develop science-based solutions to the problems
we face.

Ocean Leadership urges you to support the enhancement of our National
Sea Grant College Program to a level of \$125 million over the next
three to five years; require the Advisory Board to review the pros and
cons of providing fellows with an opportunity to increase the period of
the Knauss Congressional fellowship; require that the Advisory Board
develop strategies to implement ORPPIS; and develop an International Sea
Grant Program and Fellowship. We believe that H.R. 5618 moves the Sea
Grant Program in the right direction, and we support the bill.

Ocean Leadership looks forward to working with you, Madam Chairwoman,
and Members and staff of the subcommittee to secure passage of HR 5618.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I will be glad to
address any questions from the Subcommittee.