Exclusive economic zone


An exclusive economic zone is a sea zone prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a sovereign state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles from its coast. In colloquial usage, the term may include the continental shelf. The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 nmi 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, as can be seen in the map, 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.
A state's exclusive economic zone starts at the seaward edge of its territorial sea and extends outward to a distance of from the baseline. 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 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 directly correspond 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

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 of 23 June 1947 and 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.
Regions where a permanent ice shelf extends beyond the coastline are also a source of potential dispute.

Resolved disputes

, 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 country

Algeria

in 17 April 2018 establishes 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 in 27 July 2018 declares his disagreement with the EEZ announced by Algeria and that the Government of Spain hereby indicates 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 in 28 November 2018. The two countries indicated that the Algerian measure had been taken unilaterally and without consulting them.
25 November 2018 The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an oral note in response to the Spanish protest, explains 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 wishes 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
20 June 2019 a communication from Algeria addressed to the Italian embassy and the Spain embassy in Algiers to show their eligibility in her exclusive economic zone.

Argentina

Australia

Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone was declared on 1 August 1994, and extends from 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles from the coastline of Australia and its external territories, except where a maritime delimitation agreement exists with another state. To the 12 nautical miles boundary is Australia's territorial waters. Australia has the third largest exclusive economic zone, behind France and the United States, but ahead of Russia, with the total area of 8,148,250 square kilometres, which actually exceeds its land territory.
The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf confirmed, in April 2008, Australia's rights over an additional 2.5 million square kilometres of seabed beyond the limits of Australia's EEZ. Australia also claimed, in its submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, additional Continental Shelf past its EEZ from the Australian Antarctic Territory, but these claims were deferred on Australia's request. However, Australia's EEZ from its Antarctic Territory is approximately 2 million square kilometres.
EEZArea
Heard and McDonald Islands410,722
463,371
325,021
428,618
Macquarie Island471,837
Mainland Australia, Tasmania and minor islands6,048,681
Australian Antarctic Territory2,000,000
Total10,148,250

Brazil

Brazil's EEZ includes areas around the Fernando de Noronha Islands, St Paul and St. Peter Archipelago and the Trindade and Martim Islands. It is called the Blue Amazon.
EEZArea
2,570,917
Fernando de Noronha363,362
St. Paul and St. Peter Archipelago413,636
Trindade and Martim Vaz Islands468,599
Total3,830,955

In 2004, the country submitted its claims to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend its maritime continental margin.

Canada

Canada is unusual in that its exclusive economic zone, covering, is slightly smaller than its territorial waters. The latter generally extend only 12 nautical miles from the shore, but also include inland marine waters such as Hudson Bay, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the internal waters of the Arctic archipelago.

Chile

Chile's EEZ includes areas around the Desventuradas Islands, Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Islands.

China

The first figure excludes all disputed waters, while the last figure indicates China's claimed boundaries, and does not take into account neighboring powers' claims.

Croatia

Area: 59,032 km2

Cyprus

The Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus covers more than 70,000 km2 and is divided between 13 exploration blocks. The process of the establishment of Cyprus, Israel and Lebanon Exclusive Economic Zones was held in Nicosia in 2010 with separate meetings between each country. Cyprus and Israel as part of their wider cooperation have agreed to start their gas explorations with a common American company, specifically Noble Energy. Cypriot and Israeli governments are discussing to export their natural gas through the shipping of compressed Natural Gas to Greece and then to the rest of Europe or through a subsea Pipelines starting from Israel and then leading to Greece via Cyprus.

Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark includes the constituent country of Greenland and the constituent country of the Faroe Islands.

Ecuador

Area: 1,077,231 km2

France

Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses the largest EEZ in the world, covering 11,691,000 km2. The EEZ of France covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world, whereas the land area of the French Republic is only 0.45% of the total land area of Earth.

Greece

has claimed an exclusive economic zone as per UNCLOS 1982 as well as customary international law. Turkey doesn't recognize a legal continental shelf and EEZ around the Greek islands.
According to published maps, the Israel government has recognized the Exclusive Economic Zones of Greece and Cyprus. They describe the course of the gas pipeline which will transfer gas produced by American Νoble Εnergy Ltd. from the Leviathan reservoir to Europe, through an undersea pipeline crossing Greece. The gas pipeline should traverse the sea area, which according to international law, is part of the Greek EEZ. By this proposal, Israel recognizes the Greek EEZ in the area and offers an advantage that Greece can use during negotiation procedures to support its claims on the area. In practice, this cooperation will set up a powerful energy coalition between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. The mining and operating part will be undertaken by an American company. "The substance of the issue is that in an effort to protect and secure vital Israeli interests in the Mediterranean Sea, Israel has been left with no choice other than to officially delimit its maritime borders".

Germany

India

EEZArea
Mainland India and Lakshadweep1,641,514 km2
Andaman and Nicobar Islands663,629 km2
Total2,305,143 km2

India is currently seeking to extend its EEZ to 350 miles.

Indonesia

Indonesia has the 6th largest exclusive economic zone in the world. The total size is. It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores. This is due to the 13,466 islands of the Indonesian archipelago. It has the 2nd largest coastline of 54,720 km. The five main islands are: Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Western New Guinea. There are two major island groups and sixty smaller island groups.

Israel

In 2010, an agreement was signed with Cyprus concerning the limit of territorial waters between Israel and Cyprus at the maritime halfway point, a clarification essential for safeguarding Israel's rights to oil and underwater gas reservoirs. The agreement was signed in Nicosia by Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and the Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou. The two countries agreed to cooperate in the development of any cross border resources discovered, and to negotiate an agreement on dividing joint resources.

Japan

Japan has the 8th largest exclusive economic zone of. It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores.
EEZArea
Minami-Tori-shima428,875
Nanpō Islands862,782
Pacific Ocean 1,162,334
Ryukyu Islands1,394,676
Sea of Japan630,721
Daito Islands44
Senkaku Islands7
Sea of Okhotsk235
Total4,479,674

Japan has disputes over its EEZ boundaries with all its Asian neighbors. The above, and relevant maps at the Sea Around Us Project both indicate Japan's claimed boundaries, and do not take into account neighboring powers' claims.
Japan also refers to various categories of "shipping area" – Smooth Water Area, Coasting Area, Major or Greater Coasting Area, Ocean Going Area – but it is unclear whether these are intended to have any territorial or economic implications.

Malaysia

Mexico

Mexico's exclusive economic zones comprise a total surface area of 3,144,295 km2, and places Mexico among the countries with the largest areas in the world. This puts Mexico's total territory as 5,153,735 km2.

New Zealand

New Zealand's EEZ covers, which is approximately fifteen times the land area of the country. Sources vary significantly on the size of New Zealand's EEZ; for example, a recent government publication gave the area as roughly 4,300,000 km2. These figures are for the EEZ of New Zealand proper, and do not include the EEZs of other territories in the Realm of New Zealand.

North Korea

The exclusive economic zone of North Korea stretches 200 nautical miles from its basepoints in both the West Sea and the Sea of Japan. The EEZ was declared in 1977 after North Korea had contested the validity of the Northern Limit Lines set up after the Korean War as maritime borders. The EEZ has not been codified in law and North Korea has never specified its coordinates, making it difficult to determine its specific scope.
In the West Sea, the EEZ remains unspecified in the Korea Bay because China has not determined its own EEZ in the area. The border between the North Korean and South Korean EEZs in the West Sea cannot be determined because of potential overlap and disputes over certain islands.
In the Sea of Japan, the North Korean EEZ can be approximated to be trapezoidal-shaped. The border between North Korea and Russia's respective EEZs is the only such border that has been determined in East Asia. Here, the EEZ does not cause many problems, even with regards to South Korea, because the sea is not thought to be rich in resources.

Norway

Norway has a large exclusive economic zone of 819 620 km2 around its coast. The country has a fishing zone of 1,878,953 km2, including fishing zones around Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
In April 2009, the United Nations Commission for the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved Norway's claim to an additional 235,000 square kilometres of continental shelf. The commission found that Norway and Russia both had valid claims over a portion of shelf in the Barents Sea.

Peru

Area: 906,454 km2

Philippines

The Philippines' EEZ covers.

Poland

The Polish EEZ covers the area of within the Baltic Sea.

Portugal

Portugal has the 20th largest EEZ in the world. Presently, it is divided in three non-contiguous sub-zones:
Portugal submitted a claim to extend its jurisdiction over additional 2.15 million square kilometers of the neighboring continental shelf in May 2009, resulting in an area with a total of more than 3,877,408 km2. The submission, as well as a detailed map, can be found in the Task Group for the extension of the Continental Shelf website.
Spain disputes the EEZ's southern border, maintaining that it should be drawn halfway between Madeira and the Canary Islands. But Portugal exercises sovereignty over the Savage Islands, a small archipelago north of the Canaries, claiming an EEZ border further south. Spain objects, arguing that the Savage Islands do not have a separate continental shelf, citing article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Romania

Area: 23,627 km2

Russia

Area: 158,861 km2

Somalia

Area: 825,052 km2

South Africa

South Africa's EEZ includes both that next to the African mainland and that around the Prince Edward Islands, totalling 1,535,538 km2.
Area: 300,851 km2

Spain

Area: 1,039,233 km2

Thailand

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has the [|fifth largest] exclusive economic zone of square km. It comprises the EEZs surrounding the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. The figure does not include the EEZ of the British Antarctic Territory.
The EEZ associated with the Falkland Islands and South Georgia are disputed by Argentina. The EEZ of the Chagos Archipelago, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, is also disputed with Mauritius which considers the archipelago as a part of its territory.
TerritoryEEZ Area EEZ Area Notes
Disputed with.-
-
Including the and Rockall.-
Including Gough Island.-
Disputed with.-
Disputed with.-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Channel IslandsIncluding and.-
-
Disputed with.-
No EEZ area. The relevant EEZ areas around Cyprus Island belong to the and respectively.-
Total6,805,5862,627,651

A part of the overseas territory of, which together has an EEZ of 1,641,294 square km.

United States


The United States' exclusive economic zone is the second largest in the world, covering 11,351,000 km2. Areas of its EEZ are located in three oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.
TerritoryEEZ Area EEZ Area Notes
A non-contiguous state in the northwest extremity of the North American continent.-
Northwestern IslandsIncluding, these islands form the Leeward Islands of the Hawaiian island chain.-
U.S. East CoastThe mainland coastal states of the Eastern United States.-
Southeastern IslandsThese islands form the Windward Islands of the Hawaiian island chain.-
U.S. West CoastThe mainland coastal states of the Western United States.-
An organized unincorporated Commonwealth of the United States.-
U.S. Gulf CoastThe mainland coastal states of the Southern United States.-
A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.-
Howland and Baker IslandsIncluding and, both territories are National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.-
A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.-
The only inhabited unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States.-
and Kingman ReefBoth territories are National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.-
A National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.-
An organized unincorporated territory of the United States.-
An organized unincorporated Commonwealth of the United States.-
An organized unincorporated territory of the United States.-
N/AN/AA National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
Total11,351,0004,383,000

Vietnam

has an exclusive economic zone of. It includes the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands. It has disputes mainly with the People's Republic of China due to the nine-dash line.

Rankings by area

This list includes dependent territories within their sovereign states, but does not include various claims on Antarctica. EEZ+TIA is exclusive economic zone plus total internal area which includes territorial land and internal waters.
RankCountryEEZ km2Shelf km2EEZ+TIA km2
111,691,000579,42212,366,417
211,351,0002,193,52621,814,306
38,505,3482,194,00816,197,464
47,566,6733,817,84324,664,915
5 United Kingdom6,805,586872,8917,048,486
66,159,0322,039,3818,063,601
75,599,0772,644,79515,607,077
84,479,388214,9764,857,318
9 New Zealand4,083,744277,6104,352,424
103,830,955774,56312,345,832
113,681,989252,9474,431,381
123,441,8107,5233,442,536
133,269,386419,1025,141,968
142,996,41919,4032,997,121
15 Denmark2,551,238495,6574,761,811
162,402,288191,2562,865,128
172,385,178434,0202,770,404
182,305,143402,9965,592,406
191,990,53018,4111,990,711
1,960,0271,2131,960,264
201,727,40828,0001,819,498
211,590,780272,9211,890,780
221,589,47736,2821,618,373
231,535,538156,3372,756,575
241,336,55939,0631,337,014
251,284,99729,0611,287,037
261,282,97847,7051,301,250
271,225,259101,5051,812,300
281,159,063856,3463,939,463
291,077,23141,0341,333,600
301,039,23377,9201,545,225
31923,32234,538923,622
32906,45482,0002,191,670
33877,019231,34010,473,980
34825,05255,8951,462,709
35808,15853,6911,949,906
36800,5615,591804,594
37751,345108,015854,345
38749,7903,575749,816
39663,25111,483675,440
40659,5588,517660,305
41654,715106,323668,658
42603,9782,837604,437
43578,98694,2121,380,576
44575,230115,1571,287,780
45574,72519,585625,825
46564,74886,6981,388,864
47552,66959,2291,080,637
48541,915116,834843,251
49533,18059,071842,680
50532,775220,3321,209,353
51532,61932,453598,229
52518,43348,0921,765,133
53505,57281,451637,529
54475,469342,522575,469
55471,50798,5001,387,950
56417,663365,198748,875
57410,310139,935480,583
58351,58964,7632,111,129
59350,75161,525460,637
60335,64653,404411,163
61334,671323,412665,474
62308,48041308,501
63303,5097,820331,560
64299,397230,063812,517
65290,00051,3831,117,911
66263,45161,5911,265,451
67261,65456,0931,045,216
68258,1379,802269,128
69255,89810,738304,569
70249,73417,715361,103
71249,54268,718362,034
72241,88825,6111,186,975
73235,34922,502473,888
74228,633107,2492,378,323
75217,31342,2851,141,081
76215,61128,625287,351
77202,79035,020470,458
78186,898426187,328
79176,25410,175498,717
80168,718118,6931,797,468
81165,33831,6621,190,858
82163,7521,526165,987
83160,885154,604602,255
84158,86123,092355,583
85 Netherlands154,01177,246192,345
86147,31879,142750,818
87142,16675,327318,381
88137,76550,578352,734
89131,3971,902132,361
90127,9502,087130,781
91127,77253,631291,592
92126,7606,683154,510
93126,3539,9852,508,094
94123,88170,874254,254
95123,72539,339159,850
96116,94211,073697,309
97114,17014,422223,059
98113,88850,337234,428
99110,0894,128110,531
100101,85767,126265,467
10198,7074,042107,958
10290,96216,852112,003
10387,17185,109425,590
10486,39266,438230,390
10583,23143,016119,419
10677,72861,817195,328
10774,19925,28479,329
10870,32625,64885,200
10968,14819,8271,954,216
11062,51562,515243,550
11159,42644,755305,283
11259,03250,277115,626
11358,21857,474141,818
11457,48557,485414,599
11554,8235,30155,139
11636,99236,99282,219
11736,3021,56136,691
11835,35113,17858,317
11934,30710,426145,186
12033,2212,721145,843
12131,59031,59043,176
12231,0177,982373,017
12329,79729,797342,482
12428,98565929,736
12528,45227,77293,011
12627,4262,23727,770
12726,3523,74548,424
12823,62719,303262,018
12923,1125,58134,407
13021,9463,24391,646
13119,5161,06729,968
13216,54711,420491,989
13315,61754416,156
13413,6916,97942,439
13512,0451,26568,830
13611,02611,02628,844
13710,5031,085195,683
13810,22510,22510,975
13910,0908,50915,855
1409,97465310,235
1417,7453,89621,557
1427,4593,18730,659
1437,0317,03172,331
1443,4473,44733,975
1451,6061,5932,346,464
1461,0671,0671,772
147771771439,088
1482882290
1492562566,276
15022022020,493
1511665989,508
152505051,259
2,724,900
1,564,100
1,284,000
1,267,000
1,240,192
1,104,300
1,098,581
752,612
652,090
622,984
619,745
582,000
488,100
447,400
406,752
390,757
274,222
241,038
236,800
207,600
199,951
147,181
143,100
118,484
93,028
86,600
83,871
78,867
77,474
49,035
41,284
38,394
33,846
30,355
29,743
27,834
26,338
25,713
17,364
10,887
2,586
468
160
61
0.44
Total137,273,11025,153,541274,239,014