chapter I 



INTRODUCTION: OCEAN MANAGEMENT 

 AND THE LAW OF THE SEA 



National policies and programs, if they are to be meaningful, must 

 be responsive to new national needs and changing priorities. 

 Recently the United States and many other nations of the world have 

 been confronted by the energy crisis and by the prospect of mounting 

 food and mineral shortages. These events havegiven newimpetus to 

 the development of ocean resources. Yet, at the same time, there is a 

 continuing concern about the impact of development on the quality 

 of the environment. 



In this country, the need for accelerated ocean development and 

 the necessity of preserving the environment are recognized in 

 Congress and at the highest policy levels of the executive branch. 

 This recognition is reflected in the rapid expansion of Federal Ocean 

 Program activities directed to both objectives. Federal agency 

 efforts directed to environmental preservation have now been 

 greatly augmented by intensive new environmental assessment 

 programs to lay the basis for marine fossil-fuel and mineral 

 development. 



The beginning of commercial-scale operations for the mining of 

 deep-ocean minerals, however, depends partly on the resolution of 

 law of the sea issues. Such issues are also of great significance to the 

 development and proper management of the living resources of the 

 ocean. 



