ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the evolution of laws concerning ownership of the oceans and the range of the territorial seas. It describes the purposes and results of the three United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which are UNCLOS I, UNCLOS II, UNCLOS III. The chapter addresses the deep seabed mineral regime first proposed at UNCLOS III and its subsequent modification. It focuses on living marine resources, and describes international efforts to control marine pollution. The chapter provides an analysis of the evolution of the ocean regime using the analytic model. The usual explanations for the desire to assert sovereignty over the world's oceans are based on some mix of the commercial aspects of the claims, national security, protection of fisheries, and collection of tariffs. Clearly, if the fisheries are to survive at all, an effective regime must be devised.
