This background paper reviews the status of the major sectors of the maritime industry engaged in EEZ activities and notes the significant trends. Basic data on the major sectors were first prepared for OTA by the Maritime Administration. OTA then conducted a survey of industry and other interested parties and prepared the analyses in the paper.

This report suggests that Congress need not wait for the completion of the current governmental negotiations in order to begin an examination of the legal issues resulting from space station development and operation. In the near term, Congress could: 1) begin to identify those Federal and State laws which already apply to space station activities and those that Congress believes should apply; 2) begin to resolve questions of power sharing between Federal and State laws and Federal and State courts as they relate to space station activities; and 3) monitor the space station negotiations to ensure that the final space station agreements protect the fundamental rights and interests of U.S. citizens and support U.S. policies, including those related to commercial activities in space.

This background paper focuses on the end point of educational preparation for science and engineering careers — undergraduate and graduate study. It places the issue of future supply in the broad cultural context of changing demographics, labor market adjustments, and intervention policies.