Political Control and Management of the Oceans and Coastal ZonesAuthor(s): Gerald BlakeSource: Area, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Mar., 1984), p. 85Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20002020 .

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Annual Conference 85

encountered in her report on a project commissioned by the Scottish Development Department to produce a set of maps based on the census statistics for Scotland. The final two papers addressed the specific issues that arise when using the SAS for teaching. Tony Fielding (Sussex) reviewed the use of SAS data on a course entitled ' Geographical Analysis of Urban and Regional Problems', which is taken by undergraduates majoring in different disciplines. The reactions of the students and lecturers to using SAS data as an aid to our understanding of how the processes of socio-spatial patterning in society operate were highlighted. Nigel Walford (Essex) then examined the role of the SAS in the specific task of identifying different social areas, for field study purposes. The paper compared the merits of criteria selection and cluster analysis techniques with an illustrated guide to parts of Colchester District.

Nigel Walford ESRC Data Archive, Essex University

Political control and management of the oceans and coastal zones This session was held at the Durham IBG Conference in January under the auspices of the Political Geography Study Group. The papers concentrated largely on the political compartmen talisation of the oceans, and on coastal zone management. Alastair Couper (Maritime Studies,

UWIST) spoke of the intensifying conflict of interest between coastal states, maritime states and landlocked states in recent decades. The UNCLOS III Convention of 1982 gives maritime states the protection they had sought in the right of transit passage through straits, and ends creeping jurisdiction over territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. The position of non signatories is now uncertain, with the UK for example disadvantaged in any future discussions on law of the sea matters. Proinnsias Breathnach (St Patrick's, Maynooth) outlined the changing offshore claims of the Republic of Ireland whose adjacent seas possess a number of sedimentary basins with hydrocarbon potential. Ireland has made claims in the Atlantic since 1976 on the basis of extensive sediments from the continental shelf. The median line with the UK in the Celtic Sea remains undelimited. Mark Wise (Plymouth Poly) traced the conflict between national and EEC fishing interests from 1965 to 1983, drawing attention to emerging regional fishing plans as a means of reconciling the two (e.g. the Orkney-Shetland 'Box'). Such regional arrange ments could become more widespread in future. Turning to coastal zones, Tony Orme (UCLA) described how citizen pressure had created the California Coastal Commission of 1972, designed to relieve land use chaos along the coast and ensure coastal access. Since 1976 however responsi bility for coastal protection and management has been in the hands of 67 local government auth orities and matters have deteriorated badly. Geographical contributions to coastal management in such a setting were shown to be very valuable, for example in relating geomorphological change to human activity. Joyce Halliday (Maritime Studies, UWIST) argued that coastal zone

management in Britain is being given neither explicit recognition nor coherent management. There is a mosaic of agency responsibilities and jurisdiction, and the need for local authorities to recognise the coast as a policy zone is clear. Some national guidelines might help induce

more financial and practical commitment by authorities. Hance Smith (Maritime Studies, UWIST) emphasised that an enormous infrastructure already existed for ocean management long before the deliberations of UNCLOS III began. Three management zones can be identified: the water column and surface where boundaries are shifting; the seabed where activities are in fixed locations; and in the coastal zone. Geographers can contribute greatly to data collection,

multiple sea-use planning, and coastal zone management. It was evident from this series of papers that a surprising amount of practical work is already being done in maritime geography, and many opportunities for research are opening up. It was hoped that this would not be the last IBG session on the subject.

Gerald Blake University of Durham

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