impede trawling, and since the shrimp fishery on 

 the Gulf Continental Shelf is the country's largest, 

 the matter is of great concern. 



Wrecks, in the ordinary sense of sunken vessels, 

 are an increasing problem. Extant wreck legislation 

 deals only with territorial waters, and admiralty 

 law concerning wrecks beyond territorial waters is 

 sparse. The size of mobile drilling platforms is such 

 that the wreck of one of these can be a hazard 

 even in 100 fathoms. The Corps of Engineers has 

 no authority to remove wrecks on the Continental 

 Shelf beyond territorial waters and since some of 

 these contrivances are considered vessels, no pres- 

 ent legislation applies. 



Pipelines on the shelf in the Gulf of Mexico had 

 a total length of over 1,800 miles in 1968, and 

 more are being laid. Pipelines no longer utilized 



usually are abandoned and are not noted on 

 nautical charts. The majority of pipeline casualties 

 occurs as the result of storms. Ships' anchors can 

 break them even if buried 10 to 20 feet beneath 

 the seabed. 



Although most new problems are related to the 

 petroleum, gas, and sulfur industries, it can be 

 anticipated that experunental and exploratory 

 devices not connected with these industries will 

 also present difficulties when developed. Sub- 

 marine data collection installations, manned and 

 unmanned, paralleling present weather and seismic 

 data collection stations can be expected. Under- 

 water recreational activities will increase. Each will 

 tend to complicate matters further. 



Federal jurisdiction with regard to such matters 

 as navigation safety, obstruction control, naviga- 



Figure 13. TEKTITE I undersea habitat to be established in 1 969. Such new activities must be 

 included in the management and safety concerns for coastal waters. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy 

 General Electric Co.) 



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