ABSTRACT
The growing realization that the living resources of the ocean were not inexhaustible together with the practical implications of that conclusion have had profound effects on the manner in which we view the oceans and its resources. If the oceans and their resources were truly unlimited the imperative for management systems would be removed. However, as time passed technology associated with resource exploitation and utilization improved and human population, with attendant needs and expectations, increased. Evidence of declines in availability of the ocean’s living resources was increasingly noted. The possibility that ocean resources were limited had to be considered.
