Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies Series, Volume 27. This collection of essays summarizes some of the ocean development work undertaken by the Dalhousie Ocean Studies Programme in the Eastern Caribbean from 1980 to 1985. Most of the contributors were either directly or indirectly involved in this work. The genesis of the project can be related to the establishment of the Dalhousie Ocean Studies Programme (DOSP) in 1979. DOSP was brought into being through a major negotiated grant between Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC). This grant required DOSP to carry out a series of twelve projects under a programme entitled “New Directions in Ocean Law, Policy and Management.” The purpose of the programme was to develop a substantial body of knowledge in the ocean law and management field, train a group of future “ocean managers” in the area, and create a Canadian centre of excellence in the ocean-related social sciences.