This book has its genesis in materials collected in the Hestern Central Atlantic region in preparation for a regional seminar on the Changing Law of the Sea and its Implications for Fisheries in the Hestern Atlantic. The Seminar, which was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN and funded by the Norwegian government, was held in Havana, Cuba, 1980. Most of the materials were gathered by the authors as a result of direct contact with the fisheries authorities of the region, and supplemented where possible by information obtained from public sources for the remaining countries not visited. Twenty seven countries in the region were visited, and the authors were able to obtain materials much of which is not readily accessible except in the individual countries. In writing this book, the authors have become indebted to many people for their advice and assistance. He wish to thank in particular the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations for permitting use to be made of papers submitted to the Havana seminar, and to the following members of that Organisation: L.