University of Miami Law School Institutional Repository University of Miami Inter-American Law Review 12-1-1978 Marine Scientific Research Linda A. Caruso Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umialr Part of the Law of the Sea Commons Recommended Citation Linda A. Caruso, Marine Scientific Research, 10 U. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. 932 (1978) Available at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umialr/vol10/iss3/11 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami Inter- American Law Review by an authorized administrator of Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Impact of the Law of the Sea Conference on The International Law of Freedom of Marine Scientific Research LINDA A. CARUSO* I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................... 932 II. BENEFITS OF MARINE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH .................. 934 III. TECHNOLOGY FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ................. 934 A. Seasat and Ocean W eather ...................................... 937 B . O il Sp ills .............................................................. 939 IV. THE UNITED NATIONS LAW OF THE SEA CONFERENCES... 940 A. Scientific Research in the Exclusive Economic Zone ..... 941 B. Scientific Research on the High Seas ......................... 944 C. Prospectsfor Future Negotiations ............................. 947 V . C ONCLUSIONS ......................................... .................. 948 I. INTRODUCTION The traditional legal principle of open access 'to the ocean, the extension of national sovereignty, and the international regimes pro- posed for the oceans at the Law of the Sea Conferences are in conflict with one another; an international conflict that has caused extensive controversy concerning the prerogatives of ocean scientists. Ocean scientists contend that "unimpeded access to all parts of the oceans is vital to the accomplishment of their work." Since schools of fish, geologic structures, and currents cross multiple zones, effective oceanographic research, scientists argue, may also require transit through zones of more than one coastal state.' This issue has in- spired a coalition of developing states, both coastal and landlocked, who are opposed to an international regime which would allow free- * B.A. George Washington University; J.D. Degree Candidate, George Washington University School of Law. Mrs. Caruso was awarded Special Honors in International Politics for her work on Law of the Sea. 1. S. BROWN, N. CORNELL, L. FABIAN & E. WEISS, REGIMES FOR THE OCEAN, OUTER SPACE, AND WEATHER 90 (1977) [hereinafter cited as BROWN]. Fa- bian, The Ocean, The United States and the Poor Countries, in THE UNITED STATES AND THE DEVELOPING WORLD: AGENDA FOR ACTION (1973) [hereinafter cited as Fabian]. Charney, Law of the Sea: Breaking the Deadlock, 55 FOREIGN AFF. 598, 601 (1977) [hereinafter cited as Charney]. Reprint 264 (Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. 1973) [hereinafter cited as Reprint 264]. COMMENT: LAW OF THE SEA CONFERENCE dom of access by marine scientific researchers to the various zones of a coastal state. Since the advanced industrialized states tend to be the researching states2 the coalition contends that freedom of scientific research is merely a self-serving slogan that primarily benefits those technologically and scientifically advanced countries which are in a position to exploit the results of the research. These coalition states demand the right to control access to their territorial waters and to any resource zones that may be created. They desire a regime that requires the consent of the coastal state involved, prior to any re- search being done in that state's territorial waters or economic zone.2 The United States position is that consent should be required only for certain specified research activities. 4 One such exception to the United States philosophy of maximum freedom for marine scien- tific research involves ocean floor drilling on the continental shelf. Under existing international law, the consent of the coastal state in- volved must be secured prior to such drilling. Possibly because such drilling might involve environmental hazards or national security threats the United States believes this exception should be con- tinued. 5 While most states have not expressed strong views on the control of scientific research beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, a few have made outright demands for internationalization of all scientific research performed on the high seas. They have argued that an inter- national regime, with either the capability to carry out its own re- search or the authority to regulate the activities of scientists, would be most beneficial to the developing countries in terms of dissemina- tion of knowledge. 6 The United States, however, has maintained that international regulation of scientific research in the areas beyond a state's national jurisdiction is unacceptable. 7 2. Bello, The Present State of Marine Science and Oceanography in the Less Developed Countries, 8 INT'L LAW. 231 (1974). 3. BnOWN, supra note 1, at 91. Charney, supra note 1, at 602. 4. H. Franssen, The Third Law of the Sea Conference, CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Nov. 21, 1976, at 24 [hereinafter cited as Franssen]. 5. Shapley, Law of the Sea Meeting: A Wet Blanket for Ocean Research, 181 Sci. 1024 (1973). 6. H. Franssen, Developing Country Views of Sea Law and Marine Science in FREEDOM OF OCEANIC RESEARCH 137, 155-156 (1973) [hereinafter cited as Develop- ing Country Views]. See also, M.N. Franssen, Oceanic Research and the Developing Nation Perspective, id. at 179, 198. 7. Elliot L. Richardson, Special Representative of the President to the Law of the Sea Conference at the United Nations, United States Mission to the United Na- tions, Press Release USUN-57(77), with Questions and Answers appended (July 20, LAWYER OF THE AMERICAS II. BENEFITS OF MARINE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH The United States, together with almost all of the major western nations, has maintained that oceanic research has benefited and will continue to benefit all mankind. Ocean research provides the scien- tific community with information which can lead to better manage- ment of resources, more accurate weather forecasting, reduction of navigational hazards, a more complete understanding and better con- trol of marine pollution, and other, presently unforeseen, benefits. 8 Over the long term, the quest for basic knowledge on the world's oceans will yield information that can improve man's condition throughout the entire world.9 All scientific research on the oceans, no matter how theoretical, is of some use, at least indirectly, to fisheries, oil and mineral exploitation, and military operations. While the benefits of scientific research may indirectly benefit all of man- kind, the developing countries complain, the immediate benefits will flow to the technologically advanced and industrialized countries which can best utilize the information gleaned. 10 It seems more likely, however, that scientific research on the oceans will benefit all mankind. With burgeoning populations and dwindling resources on land, it is inevitable that man will become more dependent on the sea in the future.'1 Marine scientific research is necessary to enable man to make efficient use of the sea's bounty while protecting the environment. III. TECHNOLOGY FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Submersibles are being used extensively today to study all as- pects of oceanography, ocean engineering, geology, ocean waste dis- 2 posal, archeology, reefs, and fishing grounds.' 1977) at 5 [hereinafter cited as Richardson, Press Release]. See generally Informal Composite Negotiating Text; Explanatory Memorandum by the President, United Na- tions Third Conference on the Law of the Sea, U.N. Doc. A/CONF. 62/W.P. 10/ Add. 1 (July 22, 1977) at 6 [hereinafter cited as ICNT Explanatory Memorandum]. ICNT, infra note 35, at Part XI, Art. 151. 8. H. Franssen, supra note 4, at 24. 9. COMMISSION ON MARINE SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND RESOURCES, OUR NATION AND THE SEA: A PLAN FOR NATIONAL ACTION, H.R. Doe. No. 91-42, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 23 (1969). 10. Developing Country Views, supra note 6, at 137. 11. R. MILLER, THE SEA 302 (1975) [hereinafter cited as MILLER]. 12. See generally SUBMERSIBLES AND THEIR USE IN OCEANOGRAPHY AND OCEAN ENGINEERING (1977); Busby, An Overview of Submersible Activities Worldwide in 1977. SEA TECH., Jan. 1978, at 15; R. Jones & Kotzer, Manned Submersibles Study COMMENT: LAW OF THE SEA CONFERENCE Until William Beebe and Otis Barton conceived, designed, and built the famous Bathysphere in the 1930's, no human being had ever survived a dive below 500 feet of water, yet it was known that an abundance of marine life forms existed below that depth. In their Bathysphere they made thirty-tvo deep scientific research dives. In the summer of 1934, while off the coast of Bermuda, they reached a depth of 3028 feet.13 By 1960, man's scientific research had reached the furthest known depths of the oceans. The third submersible built refitted and operated by the United by Auguste Piccard, Trieste II, 4 States Navy, dove to a depth of 35,800 feet in the Marianas Trench.' In November 1977, a $1.167 million contract to define the physi- cal characteristics of the planned "Oceanlab" mobile underwater laboratory was awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to the Re-Entry and Environmental