We know that 1 ha of land, given modern methods of cultivation, can 

 feed 7 people. At present, some 1.4 billion ha of the earth's surface 

 (approximately lOX of the continental surface) is under cultivation, so 

 that the fruits of agriculture, given intelligent use and distribution, 

 could feed 10 billion people. If agriculture were improved and planted 

 areas expanded, these capabilities could be still further increased. 

 However, agricultural production, and particularly animal husbandry, 

 require great efforts and capital investments, which are amortized over 

 a long period of time. Therefore, the self-renewing biologic resources 

 of the World Ocean have, in recent decades, become an important source 

 of nutrition, animal feed, and medical and engineering products. 



Year 1800 1850 1900 1960 1970 1975 



Population of the 



world in millions 800 1000 1550 3000 3635 4000 



Catch per person, kg 1.5 2.0 2.6 13.3 19.2 16.9 



The volume of the total worldwide catch from the ocean in the early 

 twentieth century was around 4 million tons, i.e., 2.6 kg per inhabitant 

 of the earth. The rapid increase in the catch in recent decades has 

 meant that by 1960, some 40 million tons were taken from the sea (13.3 

 kg per person), in 1970-1975--65-70 million tons (17-19 kg per 

 person). At present, products obtained from the seas and oceans account 

 for 15% of the balance of food proteins, significantly less than the 

 fraction accounted for by milk and meat. However, a comparison of the 

 total volume of food obtained by man from the sea and from the land 

 indicates that the "fields of the sea" provide a more than modest 

 harvest. About 3% of the surface of the earth-- the area of cultivated 

 land--provides almost 99% of the food eaten by man, whereas the other 

 71% of the earth's surface, covered by the seas and oceans, provides man 

 with slightly over 1% of his food. 



According to modern best estimates, each year, some 300-320 million 

 t of fish and large invertebrates are produced in the ocean, of which 

 about 90 million t could be caught by man. Thus, there are genuine 

 possibilities for significantly increasing the catch, but, at the same 

 time, the demands of mankind are such that by the year 2000 it would be 

 desirable to obtain as much as 140-150 million t of fish and related 

 products--that is, twice the present level . 



What are the potential capabilities of the World Ocean as a source 

 of food, to what extent and by what methods can the harvest of the "blue 

 fields" be increased, and what is the reason for the relatively low 

 yield of food from the tremendous area of the World Ocean? These 

 questions must be answered in order to provide an objective evaluation 

 of the possible volume of commercial production of the ocean. 



360 



