Exclusive economic zone


An exclusive economic zone, as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.
It stretches from the outer limit of the territorial sea out 370.4 kilometres from the coast of the state in question. It is also referred to as a maritime continental margin and, in colloquial usage, may include the continental shelf. The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit. The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone is that the first confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the second is merely a "sovereign right" which refers to the coastal state's rights below the surface of the sea. The surface waters are international waters.

Definition

Generally, a state's exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, extending seaward to a distance of no more than out from its coastal baseline. The exception to this rule occurs when exclusive economic zones would overlap; that is, state coastal baselines are less than apart. When an overlap occurs, it is up to the states to delineate the actual maritime boundary. Generally, any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state.
The exclusive economic zone stretches much further into sea than the territorial waters, which end at from the coastal baseline. Thus, the exclusive economic zones includes the contiguous zone.
States also have rights to the seabed of what is called the extended continental shelf up to from the coastal baseline, beyond the exclusive economic zones, but such areas are not part of their exclusive economic zones.
The legal definition of the continental shelf does not correspond exactly to the geological meaning of the term, as it also includes the continental rise and slope, and the entire seabed within the exclusive economic zone.

Origin and history

The idea of allotting nations' EEZs to give them more control of maritime affairs outside territorial limits gained acceptance in the late 20th century.
Initially, a country's sovereign territorial waters extended beyond the shore. In modern times, a country's sovereign territorial waters extend to beyond the shore. One of the first assertions of exclusive jurisdiction beyond the traditional territorial seas was made by the United States in the Truman Proclamation of 28 September 1945. However, it was Chile and Peru respectively that first claimed maritime zones of 200 nautical miles with the Presidential Declaration Concerning Continental Shelf signed by Chilean President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla on 23 June 1947 and by Peruvian President Jose Luis Bustamante y Rivero through Presidential Decree No. 781 of 1 August 1947
It was not until 1982 with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone was formally adopted.

Disputes

The exact extent of exclusive economic zones is a common source of conflicts between states over marine waters.

Unresolved

Arctic Ocean

  • A wedge-shaped section of the Beaufort Sea, an area that reportedly contains substantial oil reserves, is disputed between Canada and the United States.

    Atlantic Ocean

  • Several countries have competing claims to the continental shelf near Rockall, an uninhabitable rock located in the EEZ of the United Kingdom. In addition, since Brexit the United Kingdom has claimed a exclusion zone around Rockall, which Ireland does not recognise.

    Caribbean Sea

  • In 1996, the Dominican Republic and United Kingdom signed an agreement establishing a simplified equidistance boundary between the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic. Mouchoir Bank fell on the Turks and Caicos side of the boundary, and Silver and Navidad Banks on the Dominican Republic side. However, the agreement was not subsequently ratified by either party. Instead, the Dominican Republic declared itself an archipelagic state in 2007, claiming sovereignty over Mouchoir Bank and extending its EEZ beyond the boundary agreement with the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom does not accept the archipelagic status and maritime boundaries claimed by the Dominican Republic.
  • Since 2007, the Dominican Republic in Hispaniola considers itself an archipelagic state, encroaching the long-established median or equidistance line dividing the EEZ of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and claiming portion of the EEZ claimed by the United States in relation to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, itself an unincorporated U.S. territory. The United States does not accept the archipelagic status and maritime boundaries claimed by the Dominican Republic. Victor Prescott, an authority in the field of maritime boundaries, argued that, as the coasts of both states are short coastlines with few offshore islands, an equidistance line is appropriate.

    Indian Ocean

  • Mauritius claims an EEZ for Tromelin Island from France and an EEZ in respect of the British Indian Ocean Territory from the UK. An Exclusive Economic Zone covering 2.3 million square kilometres is claimed by Mauritius.

    Mediterranean Sea

  • Croatia's ZERP in the Adriatic Sea caused friction with Italy and Slovenia, and caused problems during the accession of Croatia to the European Union.
  • Turkey claims a portion of Cyprus's claimed EEZ based on Turkey's definition that no islands, including Cyprus, can have a full EEZ and should only be entitled to 12 nautical miles. Furthermore, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, only recognized by Turkey, also claims portions of Cyprus's claimed EEZ. Turkey also disputes Greece's EEZ for the same reason in regards to its islands in the Aegean Sea. Turkey is one of few countries to not have signed UNCLOS.
  • Greece claims that the maritime deal between the internationally recognized GNA government of Libya and Turkey is illegal and it signed a counter agreement with Egypt.
  • Lebanon claims that the agreement between Cyprus and Israel overlapped its own EEZ.

    Pacific Ocean

  • The South China Sea is the setting for several ongoing disputes between regional powers including China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
  • Japan claims an EEZ around Okinotorishima, but this is disputed by China, Taiwan, and South Korea, who claim it is an islet which is incapable of generating an EEZ.
  • China and South Korea debates over the boundaries of EEZs in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea, including Socotra Rock, a source for territorial dispute.

    Potential

Regions where a permanent ice shelf extends beyond the coastline are also a source of potential dispute.

Resolved

  • The Cod Wars between the United Kingdom and Iceland occurred periodically over many decades until they were resolved with a final agreement in 1976.
  • In 1992, the Canada–France Maritime Boundary Case, which centred on the EEZ around the French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, was decided by an arbitral tribunal that concurred on the whole with the arguments put forth by Canada. France was awarded 18% of the area it had originally claimed.
  • In 1999, following the Hanish Islands conflict, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the EEZs of Yemen and Eritrea should be demarcated equidistantly between the mainlands of the two nations, without taking account of sovereignty over the islands.
  • In 2009, in a dispute between Romania and Ukraine over Snake Island, the UN International Court of Justice decided that Snake Island has no EEZ beyond 12 nautical miles of its own land.
  • In 2010, a dispute between Norway and Russia about both territorial waters and EEZ with regard to the Svalbard archipelago as it affects Russia's EEZ due to its unique treaty status was resolved. A treaty was agreed in principle in April 2010 between the two states and subsequently officially ratified, resolving this demarcation dispute. The agreement was signed in Murmansk on 15 September 2010.
  • In 2014, the Netherlands and Germany resolved an old border dispute regarding the exact location of the border in the Dollart Bay.

    Transboundary stocks

, usually adhering to guidelines set by the Food and Agriculture Organization, provides significant practical mechanisms for the control of EEZs. Transboundary fish stocks are an important concept in this control.
Transboundary stocks are fish stocks that range in the EEZs of at least two countries. Straddling stocks, on the other hand, range both within an EEZ as well as in the high seas, outside any EEZ. A stock can be both transboundary and straddling.

By region or country

Region

Caribbean Sea

Atlantic and Indian Oceans

Pacific Ocean

Country

Algeria

Algeria on 17 April 2018 established an exclusive economic zone off its coasts by Presidential Decree No. 18-96 of 2 Rajab 1439 corresponding to 20 March 2018. The permanent mission of Spain to the United Nations on 27 July 2018 declared its disagreement with the EEZ announced by Algeria and that the government of Spain indicated its willingness to enter into negotiations with the government of Algeria with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement on the outer limits of their respective exclusive economic zones, The same was done by the Italian mission on 28 November 2018. The two countries indicated that the Algerian measure had been taken unilaterally and without consulting them.
On 25 November 2018, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an oral note in response to the Spanish protest, explaining that the Algerian government does not recognize the largely exorbitant coordinates contained in Royal Decree 236/2013, which overlap with the coordinates of Presidential Decree n° 18–96 establishing an exclusive economic zone off the coast of Algeria. The Algerian government wished to emphasize that the unilateral delimitation carried out by Spain is not in conformity with the letter of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and has not taken into consideration the configuration, the specific characteristics, and the special circumstances of the Mediterranean Sea, in particular for the case of the two countries whose coasts are located face to face, as well as the objective rules and relevant principles of international law to govern the equitable delimitation of the maritime areas between Algeria and Spain, in accordance with article 74 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Algeria expressed its willingness to negotiate for a just solution.
On 20 June 2019, a communication from Algeria was sent. It was addressed to the Italian embassy and the Spanish embassy in Algiers to show their eligibility in Algeria's exclusive economic zone.