143 



After colonization of New England, the fisheries were the sustain- 

 ing industry that provided the economic foundation for growth and 

 development. The role of the estuarine zone in supporting the fishery 

 operations was extensive : By necessity most of the inhabitants settled 

 near the natural harbors ; fish was the main food staple and the main 

 export; the harbors were the focal point for incoming ships and served 

 as the only commercial centers. The resources of the sea and water- 

 borne commerce were the economic mainstay of the developing Na- 

 tion ; much of the development of California was dependent on ships 

 sailing around the tip of Cape Horn, South America, and this develop- 

 ment of trade centered on the west coast opened up new vistas for com- 

 mercial activity. 



The estuaries were also the entry portal for the immigrants that 

 came to this Nation looking for the land of opportunity. It is little 

 wonder that most of the major cities of the United States are posi- 

 tioned on a natural estuarine harbor. 



As the population grew, the relative importance of the fishery pro- 

 gressively declined as economic growth in other industries outstripped 

 the demand for seafood as a staple diet item. The growth of industrial 

 and population centers in the estuarine zone closely paralleled the 

 growth of the rest of the Nation, with the estuarine zone becoming 

 relatively more important in international commerce and less impor- 

 tant in agricultural food production than the interior of the country. 



URBAN AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 



Table IV.3.1 shows present population and agricultural develop- 

 ment in the estuarine zone.^ This table illustrates very clearly the 

 existence of several distinct environments in the estuarine zone. Popu- 

 lation and agricultural data exist in political subdivision groupings, 

 while the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMS A) cross 

 State and county boundaries to present unified economic groupings. It 

 happens that the classification by biophysical regions cuts across the 

 boundaries of some political subdivisions, but is compatible with the 

 SMSA economic units. 



The differences in boundaries of these environments is one of the 

 key problems with which estuarine zone management must deal ; in 

 the present discussion the primary concern is with the biophysical en- 

 vironment of the esturaine zone, and the regions describing this en- 

 vironment are the basic unit for analysis. Wliere necessary political 

 subdivisions have been broken at county boundaries as required to 

 present a consistent analysis. 



The coastal counties contain only 15 percent of the land area of 

 the United States, but within this area is concentrated 33 percent of 

 the Nation's population, with about four-fifths of it living in pri- 

 marily urban areas which form about ten percent of the total estuarine 

 zone area. Another 13 percent of the estuarine land area is farmland, 

 but this accounts for only four percent of the total agricultural land 



1 In this, as in many other tables requiring nationwide socioeconomic statistics, 1960 

 is the last year for which consistent data are available to support regional comparisons. 



