[Editorial Appeimng in Saturday Review o( August 13, 1966] 



Shaking the Seas' Riches 



"Under no circumstances, we believe, must we ever allow the prospects of rich 

 harvest and mineral wealth to create a new form of colonial competition among 

 the maritime nations. We must be careful to avoid a race to grab and to hold the 

 lands under the high seas. We must ensure that the deep seas and the ocean 

 bottoms are, and remain, the legacy of all human beings." 



These words, uttered by President Johnson on July 13, may be among the 

 most historic of his administration. At stake is five-sevenths of the earth's surface, 

 a vast, unknown area that suddenly could become the prize of a great power 

 struggle. 



The voices of power are already being raised. A Soviet scientist said recently: 

 "The nation that first learns to live under the seas will control them and the 

 nation that controls the seas will control the world." And a distinguished American 

 oceanographer said: "The capability of occupying a piece of the deep-sea bed 

 would . . . make the placement of colonies on Antarctica, or even on the moon, 

 pale by comparison." 



There comes a moment in history when there is an overwhelming desire or 

 need to penetrate a new frontier. For centuries, man worshipped or feared the 

 celestial bodies. Suddenly, he decided that he must explore them. President 

 Kennedy's proposals adopted by the United No,tions General Assembly in 1961 

 prevented a power struggle to annex celestial bodies; it saved the world from the 

 danger of armed outer-space navies. 



For thousands of years, the sea has been a means of communication and warfare, 

 but man has known very little about its depths. Suddenly, there is an over- 

 whelming desire and need to conquer the sea. A considerable part of the world's 

 population is hungry. But within thirty-five years this population will have 

 doubled to 7 billion. It must turn to the vast protein retfources of the sea to supple- 

 ment its food production. As the President points out, so far man has been a 

 hunter for these resources. Now he must be a farmer, preserving and developing 

 them through world cooperation. 



Although most of the seas' mineral resources are being explored on the Conti- 

 nental Shelf, untold riches are to be found beyond. As The Nev> York Times states, 

 more than 600 companies now are involved in one way or another in probing for the 

 earth's riches. 



It was significant that the President made the speech quoted here shortly after 

 he signed the bill entitled, "The Marine Resources and the Engineering Develop- 

 Act of 1966." This act establishes two bodies: a National Cabinet Council on 

 Marine Resources under the chairmanship of the Vice President, and a national 

 commission to be composed of fifteen citizens drawn from government, industry, 

 and the academic and technical world. These bodies are to recommend an overall 

 plan for an adequate national oceanographic program. So urgent is the need that 

 the commission is charged with producing its report within eighteen months, and 

 the President has asked the Cabinet Council to make preliminary recommendations 

 before the next session of Congress. The President's speech should go far in 

 determining the approach and the philosophy of these two bodies. 



The world will not permit a political vacuum. If the resources of the sea are 

 the common property of mankind, machinery must be set up for their orderly 

 exploitation for the benefit of mankind. The President's Scientific Advisory Com- 

 mittee reported that "a cooperative international effort to develop marine re- 

 sources for the benefit of all humanity seems both logical and appealing." 



Here is the challenge to the United Nations. It is essential that it proceed 

 immediately to develop the institutional means for such a program to benefit 

 all humanity. The article, "The Promise of the Seas' Bounty" [SR, June 18], 

 urged the establishment of a U.N. specialized agency giving adequate repre- 

 sentation to nations with the greatest capability and interests. It proposed that 

 from this program the United Nations have a source of income to be used for 

 a vastly expanded program for the underdeveloped countries. 



Developing the resources of the frontier of the sea must not be accompanied 

 by a military race to arm the sea. Daily, there is wide speculation as to the pos- 

 sibility of the two great powers' burying missiles in the sea bed. The nations have 

 agreed by General Assembly resolution and now by treaty that they would not 

 place atomic weapons on space ships. Some similar agreement is needed to prevent 

 a fantastic and costly arms race in the deep sea. 



