UN General Assembly
1958

126. First, I should like to mention the recognition of the special right of coastal States to take measures to conserve the living resources of the sea adjacent to their territorial waters. This right has been proclaimed by various Governments, including my own, and at Geneva it was generally recognized by the international community. Although recognition was incorporated in an unrealistic system which is not calculated to establish a just relationship between States at different levels of economic and technical development, the progress made towards meeting the views of coastal States was welcomed by countries like Ecuador, which see in the living resources of their seas an important source of wealth for their economic future, 127. A second important contribution made by the Conference was the recognition of the progress made in contemporary law with respect to the sovereignty of the State over the continental shelf.