The objectives set forth by the passage of the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 marked a turning point in U.S. policy toward marine affairs, inaugurating a fresh set of active goals regarding the use of ocean resources. These include expanding the knowledge of the ocean frontier; enhancing commerce and navigation on it; rehabilitating commercial fisheries; encouraging private investment for exploration and development of mineral wealth of the seas; advancing education and training in marine science and engineering; and improving the capabilities, performance, and use of vehicles and instruments for exploring the marine environment with the intent of recovering its resources and utilizing its energies.

The primary focus of this volume is on U.S. policy toward the oceans, this being the first concern of ocean engineers in this country. Numerous documents and illustrative material are included, however, relating to the policies of other states and to measures of international cooperation where these are particularly relevant to American interests or activities, or are instructive of other approaches to specific situations. Though the body of knowledge on this subject is undergoing considerable change, the present collection has selected and assembled for study those issues associated with increased utilization of the marine environment and is based on an original compilation used in the new Graduate Ocean Engineering degree program inaugurated by the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at M.I.T.

The book will serve those who are currently involved, or plan to be, in the growing utilization of ocean resources. Government officials, engineers, industrialists, management experts and members of the voting public will find it a contribution to the advancement of knowledge of the seas and the considerations necessary for establishing more enlightened practices in its exploration and utilization as a natural resource.

Ten chapters discuss the major facets of public policy: New Goals for National Policy; Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zones; The Continental Shelf; The Seas and International Law; Living Resources of the Sea and Their Regulation; Mineral Resources and Their Exploitation; Pollution of Waters; Safety of Life at Sea; Models for the Future; Political Process and the Future of National Ocean Policy.