September 28, 1945 marked the moment when the United States ventured into the exploitation of marine resources such as oil and gas. President Truman issued a proclamation for the country to explore and exploit these minerals according to U.S. policy (Frazier 2009, p.3). The Truman Proclamation firmly entrenched the distinction between the issue of the legal regime governing fisheries resources beyond the territorial sea and the regime governing mineral resources. Regarding the legal concept of continental shelf, its main characteristics have been established as a natural extension of the land territory of the State (Currie, Forces & Oosterveld 2007, p.403). The Proclamation established a clear separation between the territorial sea and the shelf, in which the coastal state could not extend its sovereignty, but only under its own jurisdiction and control. According to Byers (1999, p.91), the Truman Proclamation was linked to the end of the social and economic demands of World War II, when the development of technology in the United States began to generate national interest in the exploration and exploitation of oil fields marine. -coastal oil fields. This had very significant legal implications, bearing in mind that for hundreds of years marine resources had not been exploited under any regulation by any state. Following this proclamation, the United States Congress enacted legislation in 1953 in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). , which addressed the control of resource exploitation on the continental shelf by both federal and state authorities. By doing so, the government wanted to ensure that the natural resources of the coast and sea were exploited fairly and legally. This would perhaps lead to...... middle of paper ......fisheries economic zone (EFZ) and 24 nautical miles for contiguous coastal zones under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Currier, Forcese & Oosterveld 2007, p.404). This has seen US views broadcast to other parts of the world since the United Nations adopted the same laws. In conclusion, the legal regime on the Continental Shelf Convention regarding the exploitation of natural resources was historically developed by President Truman's Proclamation. After the United States proclaimed its sovereignty over the use of the sea's natural resources, the country began to develop new laws that sought to ensure control of these portions of the sea. The Truman Proclamation can be said to have influenced numerous legislative initiatives around the world regarding the use of the seabed and waters in general. Most of these legal effects are still felt.