Covering the full array of issues involved -- from maritime jurisdiction and boundaries to water quality protection to fisheries management and marine mammal protection to offshore energy development and climate change -- each chapter addresses the current state of the law for the topic, followed by analysis of the emerging and unresolved issues. The book's final chapters address the principles, legal authorities, and planning for a transition toward an ecosystem-based management approach to U.S. coastal and ocean areas.

Among the topics covered in this updated edition of Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy are:

• Maritime jurisdiction and boundaries
• The Public Trust Doctrine
• The role of the states
• Regulation of coastal wetlands and other U.S. waters
• Managing coastal development
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Coastal water quality protection
• Ocean dumping and marine pollution
• Fisheries management and trade in fish and fisheries products
• The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea
• Offshore energy development