Ten years after the signing of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which marked the end of an era of freedom of the seas, this paper examines the changes that have occurred in marine fisheries and the adjustment made in the redistribution of benefits from the seas. While a few coastal states have gained large benefits and a few distant-water fishing nations have incurred large losses, there has been continued investment in large-scale vessels and a significant growth in fishing effort on the high seas beyond the 200-mile limits. The difficulty of improving the management of domestic fisheries and the required improvements in the competence of nations to exercise their newly gained authority are noted. While the 1960s might be considered a period of adjustment to the dramatic changes in the law of the sea, environmental issues have gained increasing significance during the decade and are posing difficult challenges particularly to the small-scale fishing communities in the coastal zones. Before the benefits from the ocean's fisheries can be fully realized, many tasks have to be completed, including concerted national and international efforts for better fisheries management.