Back ||NOAA Home Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Remarks at FSV-2 Keel Laying Ceremony May 21, 2004, 1 p.m. EDT Moss Point, Miss. Good afternoon! It is great to be back here in Moss Point. Keel laying ceremonies are momentous occasions because of the inherent symbolism of a “beginning” or “laying a foundation.” While this ceremony represents both, it is also the next step in a larger process to modernize the entire fleet at NOAA so that we can provide our users with the best information and data possible. After spending 40 years in the Navy, I can assure you that ships of this size and capability don’t just happen magically, and, building an entire fleet is even more difficult. It is simply not possible without the hard work of folks like those here at VT Halter Marine or without the vision and unyielding support of our great friends who are here with us today Senator Lott and Senator Gregg. Though he could not be here for today’s event, I’d also like to thank Senator Cochran for his support. We are also very honored to have with us today the ship’s sponsor, Mrs. Judd Gregg. Thank you so much for coming! Finally, I would like to acknowledge some very special guests who made the trip down from New Hampshire. We have with us today a group of students from Winnacunnet High School who hold the high distinction of being the ones responsible for naming this ship! You will hear more about them from Mrs. Gregg, but I could not be more excited that the future leaders of our country are playing such an important role in a ship that will be so important to our environmental and economic future. If we’re lucky, maybe some of them will eventually sail on her as graduate students or accomplished scientists conducting valuable research. I want to note that in addition to three ships built by VT Halter Marine for the Navy and later transferred to NOAA, that this is the 3rd NOAA vessel being built by Halter and the second ship in its class of NOAA Fisheries Survey Vessels. NOAA’s first Fisheries Survey Vessel, Oscar Dyson, is preparing to leave here in the next couple of months on her maiden voyage. I am pleased that these talented workers from your community will now be working on yet another addition to NOAA’s research fleet. Halter’s dedicated employees deserve special recognition for their ability to rise above challenges and for their commitment to produce better, more cost-effective research vessels. I want to thank you for your valuable contribution to a project that we believe will have a truly great impact on jobs, the economy, and the state of our coastal environment. Maintaining and rebuilding fisheries stocks depends directly on the quality and quantity of scientific data. Put simply, without this important data, we cannot effectively protect and restore our Nation’s fisheries. We were nearly reaching a crisis in terms of our ability to effectively collect the data we need. Just last year, the age of NOAA’s fisheries fleet averaged 37 years. With continued support we are now on course to reduce the fisheries fleet age to 27 years by 2006! The necessity to maintain a technically advanced and capable fleet cannot be overstated. The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the largest in the world occupying 95,000 miles of coastline and containing 3.4 million square nautical miles of ocean, which is larger than the combined land area of our United Sates. Effectively managing our living marine resources over this expansive area can only be accomplished by bringing more ships on line like this one. When completed, this will be a truly state-of-the-art vessel. Even though it will accommodate nearly double the amount of scientists (19) of older ships, I can guarantee you there will be no shortage of people lining up for time on this ship. This ship greatly exceeds our current fleet capabilities, and is a faster, more reliable platform to conduct highly specialized fisheries research. This ship is being designed with a low noise hull and propeller design that will significantly reduce noise. This is important not only to avoid altering the behavior of fish, but also to improve the accuracy and efficiency of acoustic and trawl fish stock assessment. It also allows us to perform some exciting close-range studies on whales, porpoises and other marine mammals that currently are only available on a very limited basis. While we have enough work for this ship and its crew to do presently, it’s greatest contribution might be in the future of environmental protection and monitoring. I recently went to Tokyo where an historic agreement was reached with 47 countries and the European Commission to build a global earth observing system. The aim is to link thousands of separate pieces of technology as one integrated international network capable of taking earth's pulse everywhere it beats, which is all over the globe. By monitoring water and air quality, estimating crop yields, predicting life-threatening hazards, and tracking infectious diseases, separate technological assets are already demonstrating their worth. But as an integrated network, the societal and economic payoffs of an earth observation system can be as broad as the planet itself. In a fitting tribute to a world-renowned observer of the oceans, I am pleased that the HENRY B. BIGELOW will serve as a high-tech observation platform for the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Henry Bigelow was an internationally known oceanographer, marine biologist and professor of zoology emeritus of Harvard University. These days, we speak of ecosystem-based management when talking about ocean restoration and protection. Bigelow was talking about putting oceanography on an “interdisciplinary” and “eco-systemic” course long ago. He sailed tens of thousands of miles on a borrowed schooner from what is now known as NOAA Fisheries and hauled in more than 10,000 nets to study sea life. He possessed perhaps the most comprehensive, ecologically integrated picture of a large piece of ocean ever assembled. Henry Bigelow called on oceanographers to not only collect facts, but also to “fit the facts together…to lift the veil that obscured understanding of the marvelously complex cycle of events that takes place within the sea.” I believe this ship will go a long way to achieving that wish and can think of no better way to honor the legacy of a man who dedicated over 60 years of his life to teaching, researching, writing and advising than for the next generation of scientists to sail on a ship bearing his name. Thank you all again for being here on this very special day.