322 



ject to a particular governing combination of the external influences 

 of tide, ocean currents, wave action, sedimentation, and climate. This 

 subdivision into estuarine biophysical regions gave broad ranges of 

 conditions in each region, but the importance of local coastal condi- 

 tions in governing energy flows via water movement paved the way for 

 a subdivision of the estuarine zone according to 10 morphological 

 groups having similarities in water movement, circulation, and the 

 ability to rid themselves of wastes. 



A subdivision according to ecological communities was also based 

 primarily on geographical location, out again coastal conditions made 

 it necessary to identify small ecosystems governed by specific local 

 conditions within each of the major groupings. 



Section 2. The Socioeconomic Environment 



The socioeconomic environment of the estuarine zone is the direct re- 

 sult of its value as a means of sustenance, a place to live, a source of 

 enjoyment, and a route of transportation. Tlie 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 re- 

 cently has it become apparent that the laws protecting man from him- 

 self 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 ESTAURINE ZONE 



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

 national community is shown most clearly by the numbers of people 

 t)hat use it. Population concentration in the coastal counties began 

 when the first European colonist arrived. This concentration brought 

 about the development of a corresponding amount of manufacturing 

 industry in the estuarine zone, while the great har'bors gave the estua- 

 rine zone its dominating position as the commercial center of the 

 Nation. 



Long before the settlement of Plymouth, British, French, and Span- 

 ish fishermen were exploring the North Atlantic fishery resources in- 

 cluding those in the Gulf of Maine and along Georges Bank ; after 

 colonization of New England, the fisheries were the sustaining indus- 

 try that provided the economic foundation for growth and develop- 

 ment. The estuaries were also the entry portal for the immigrants that 

 came to this Nation looking for the land of opportunity. 



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 centere 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 produiotion than the interior of the country. 



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 



