IMPACTS BIOTECHNOLOGY-MARINE/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 97
rapid growth and larger size of salmon. These advances represent only the
beginning of a very exciting era in marine biology. Clearly, much has been
happening in marine biotechnology.
 Seaweeds represent a massive source of an economical food product for
many countries of the world. Aquaculture of seaweed has been underway
for several years, but new advances are being made in the application of
molecular genetic methods to seaweed culture. Genetic engineering of sea-
weed is just beginning to get underway.
 Marine genetic engineering also offers potential technological advances,
such as development of new, innovative biosensors. Marine biosensors, in
particular, offer interest because chemicals produced by marine organisms
frequently serve as attractants, representing "model" sensors. Lipids pro-
duced by deep sea bacteria have also proven to be interesting and may, in
the future, provide useful and novel biosensors.
 Marine pharmacology is an area that is moving very rapidly, with mo-
lecular genetic advances being made. For example, genes controlling pro-
duction of venom in the sea snake have been cloned. Extensive screening of
marine organisms for compounds of pharmaceutical application is cur-
rently underway and represents an area of special interest.
 The need, at the present time, if the potential of marine biotechnology is
to be fulfilled, is for significantly more basic research on the molecular
biology of marine organisms. Marine bacterial genetic systems need to be
developed, to augment the work done to date and to provide vectors and
cloning systems for marine biology.
 Marine environmental engineering represents an aspect of marine bio-
technology that is equally important and offers promise in dealing with the
problems of environmental pollution. Biotechnology-based disposal sys-
tems for the marine environment are beginning to be developed. It makes
little sense, for example, to discharge fresh-water wastes to the open ocean
and expect biodegradation to proceed rapidly. In fact, the high salt, low
temperature, and low nutrient conditions of the marine environment are
inhibitory for fresh-water organisms, notably the bacteria. As the dis-
charged material sinks to great depths in the ocean, hydrostatic pressure
increases, further inhibiting biodegradation. Thus, for deep ocean dump-
ing of wastes, biological systems should be developed that will allow
biodegradation to proceed at a reasonably rapid rate after dumping at sea.
 Biofouling is an activity of tremendous economic cost to marine indus-
tries, especially the commercial shipping industry, as well as the U.S.
Navy. Biofouling of ships' hulls can increase impedance, i.e., drag, signifi-
cantly, in a matter of days or months. In an effort to understand the funda-
mental nature, i.e., the initial steps of biofouling, several scientific teams