SEA GRANT COLLEGES 75 



OUR STAKE IN THE SEA - PRESENT AND FUTURE 



Milner B. Schaefer, Ph. D., University of Washington, 1950. Since 

 1962, he has been Professor of Oceanography and Director, Institute 

 of Marine Resources, University of California. He is Chairman, 

 National Academy of Sciences Committee on Oceanography. An edu- 

 cator, and scientist, he has also served the federal government as 

 consultant and expert on areas in oceanography. 



The explosive growth of the world's human population is well known. The 

 present rate of growth, with a doubling time of about thirty years, cannot con- 

 tinue indefinitely. However, we may be quite certain that before the human pop- 

 ulation comes into balance, it will reach levels much above the present three and 

 one-half billion. It is probable that the population will reach ten billion early in 

 the next century. The population of the world, and of the United States, is not 

 only increasing rapidly in numbers but is demanding increased standards of 

 living attainable through the application of science, technology and industry. A 

 population of ten billion people will demand an enormous supply of goods and 

 services if it is to have a healthy and satisfying existence. The present rate of 

 growth of the population and the increase in human welfare is already placing 

 great strains on the resources of the land, and is pushing men everywhere to the 

 sea to satisfy a portion of the needs. The march to the sea is manifested in 

 many ways. All major maritime nations, and a good many others as well, are 

 rapidly increasing their scientific endeavors to understand the sea and its con- 

 tents, and their technical and engineering efforts to master the sea. The fishing 

 fleets of the world are growing even more rapidly than the world's human popu- 

 lation. The world's merchant marine is growing more rapidly than at any time 

 in history, and is also evolving new types of shipping such as the giant super- 

 tankers, automated vassels, and vessels designed for handling both bulk and 

 packaged cargoes in more efficient ways. Unfortunately, the United States is far 

 from being in the vanguard of these developments. 



Production of petroleum and natural gas from beneath the sea on the con- 

 tinental shelves is booming; it is believed that perhaps 25% of the total petroleum 

 reserves of the world lie in submarine areas. Other mineral deposits of the 

 shelf-diamonds off South Africa, tin near Malaya, gold off Alaska, not to mention 

 the ubiquitous but highly important sand and gravel for construction materials, 

 are being mined from beneath the sea in increasing quantities. Other deposits, 

 such as phosphorite nodules on the continental shelves and continental border- 

 lands, and ferromanganese nodules which pave a large portion of the deep ocean 

 will certainly come into production within the next decades. 



Men are also learning how to live and work under the sea, and will shortly 

 be able to occupy the sea bottom. Already Cousteau's aquanauts in the Mediter- 

 ranean, and our aquanauts from Sea Lab II off California, have been able to live 

 and work under the ambient pressure to depths of 300 feet, and it is almost cer- 

 tain that this limit will be soon extended to 1000 feet. With deep diving vehicles, 

 and pressure protection for deeper habitations, men will certainly be able to- 

 operate, within the next decade, directly anywhere on the bottom of the ocean, 

 and through the overlying waters. 



The capability to occupy the ocean, and the growing importance of its re- 

 sources, brings increasing pressure to bear on the system of legal jurisdiction 

 and property rights which man has historically obtained. Considerable modifica- 

 tion of the ancient system of laws was made at Geneva in 1958 through the four 

 Conventions on the Law of the Sea. Two of these, in particular, the Convention 

 on the Continental Shelf (which came into force in June 1964) and the Convention 

 on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas (which 

 requires but four more ratifications to come into force) went far beyond simple 



49 



