The history of human exploiting of the North Sea dates as far back as the late 8^th century, when the sturdy Vikings of Scandinavia first navigated this small yet violent sea in search of fortune and glory. While the abundant schools of fish in the North Sea provided economic basis for the burgeoning Viking kingdoms at that time, the North Sea also turned out to be the true arena of fierce naval battles among clashing tribes. Although the advent of the Medieval Age shortly after significantly shifted the center of commerce and politics back to Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea remained in its close bond with the local population.

The advent 20^th century, with two massive world wars in which the North Sea again arose as the naval battlefield amidst surge of German submarines and defending British Royal Navy, meant the re-shift of economic and political significance back to the North Sea. During these two total wars, the British Royal Navy discovered that the North Sea could harbor a wide network of communication and marine transportation that would effectively join the England with the rest of Europe. As the same realization came to the other major European powers including post-war Germany and France, the North Sea became an important strategic location and was considered as a primary asset in establishment of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (with apparent understanding that the North Sea, after all, was the northern corner of the Atlantic Ocean).

Today, although the conflict between the western powers and the Soviet Union ceased to exist, NATO is still intact, and so is the military and commercial value of the North Sea. Thousands of warships patrol this body of water every year, while million tons of imported and exported goods pass through it every day. Unfortunately, such extensive human exploiting of the North Sea did have various negative implications with its natural environment, with increasingly disturbed biodiversity and dwindling marine life. These issues and subsequent human effort for their solution will be discussed in future submission of the articles.