ABSTRACT
For centuries, the oceans were envisaged as immutable and immune to human activities. Fish were plentiful and the capacity for the oceans to absorb human wastes was believed to be unlimited. Hugo Grotius’s principle of ‘mare liberum’ (free seas – see Chapter 2) perpetuated this worldview, which continues to underpin the actions of many states and their nationals to this day. The unregulated environment created by the free seas doctrine predictably led to the rapid degradation and exploitation of resources as well as the annexation of coastal seas (as territorial seas or EEZs) by coastal states (Hardin, 1968).
