In December 1977, NOAA Administrator Richard Frank created an Office of Ocean Management to assess the impact of alternative ocean uses in intensively used ocean areas, to coordinate and advocate NOAA's evaluation of proposals for ocean use, and to implement the Marine Sanctuary Program. The overall objective of the Office was to serve as a focal point for NOAA's role as the lead civilian ocean agency. The Office's small staff immediately found itself pulled in many directions and overwhelmed by the number of tasks and the range of pressures it faced. Controversies over the Marine Sanctuary Program and offshore leasing led to the refusal of Congress to provide funding for the Office, which was merged into the Office of Coastal Zone Management in October 1978. This article reviews the history of the Office and the lessons that can be learned from the attempt to coordinate ocean activities at the federal level.