II-?7 



THE SOCIOECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 



The socioeconomic environment of the estuarine zone is the direct 

 result of its value as a means of sustenance, a place to live, 

 a source of enjoyment, and a route of transportation. The laws 

 regulating man's activities in this zone are historically intended 

 to protect and serve individual and group interest in dealing 

 with each other. Only recently has it become apparent that the 

 laws protecting man from himself must be extended to protect the 

 natural environment from man. 



This extension of the institutional environment must recognize 

 not only the realities of how the biophysical environment operates, 

 but it must also recognize the need of human society for the 

 estuarine zone and its value to civilization both as an essential 

 part of his ecosystem and as an exploitable resource. 



Population and Industrial Development in the Estuarine Zone 



The importance of the estuarine zone of the United States to the 

 national community is shown most clearly by the numbers of people 

 that use it. Population concentration in the coastal counties 

 began when the first European colonist arrived. This concentra- 

 tion brought about the development of a corresponding amount of 

 manufacturing industry in the estuarine zone, while the great 

 harbors gave the estuarine zone its dominating position as the 

 commercial center of the Nation. 



