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 3 nmi (6 km) (range of cannon shot) beyond the shore. In modern times, a country's sovereign territorial waters extend to 12 nmi (22 km) 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 (Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom) 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 12 nautical miles (22 km) 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 (Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone) 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 (TRNC), 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" according to the European Union 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

Fisheries management, usually adhering to guidelines set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 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 (EEZ) 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.

Argentina

Considering the maritime areas claimed, the total area of Argentina reaches 3,849,756 km². The recognized Argentine EEZ area is 1,159,063 km².

Australia

Australia's exclusive economic zone was declared on 1 August 1994, and extends from 12 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 a 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 (CLCS) 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.

Brazil

Brazil's EEZ includes areas around the Fernando de Noronha Islands, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, and the Trindade and Martim Vaz Islands.

Canada

Canada is unusual in that its exclusive economic zone, covering 5,599,077 km² (2,161,816 mi²), 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 (about 300 nmi (560 km) across), 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.

In 2020 and 2022, Chile submitted its partial claims to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its maritime continental margin.

China

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

Croatia

Croatia proclaimed Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone in 2003, but it was not enforced toward other European Union states especially Italy and Slovenia. The zone was upgraded to EEZ in 2021 together with Italy and Slovenia. Territorial waters has 18,981 km², while internal waters located within the baseline cover an additional 12,498 km², and EEZ covers 24,482 km² for a total of 55,961 km².

Cyprus

Cyprus EEZ covers 98,707 square km (38,100 square miles). Cyprus' EEZ borders those of Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt.

Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark includes the constituent country (selvstyre) of Greenland and the constituent country (hjemmestyre) 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 one of the largest EEZs in the world, covering 10,186,624 km² (3,933,078 mi²). The EEZ of France covers approximately 7% 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.

Germany

Germany declared the establishment of its exclusive economic zone in the North and Baltic Seas on 1 January 1995. The relevant German legal provisions that are applicable within the EEZ include the Maritime Task Act (Seeaufgabengesetz) from 1965, the Maritime Facilities Act (Seeanlagengesetz) from 2017, and prior to that the Sea Facilities Ordinance (Seeanlagenverordnung) from 1997, the Federal Mining Act (Bundesberggesetz) and the Regional Planning Act (Raumordnungsgesetz).

The German EEZ has an area of 32,982 km². About 70% of the EEZ covers Germany's entire North Sea area, while some 29% encompasses the Baltic Sea area.

Greece

Greece forms the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea. It includes many small islands which vary between 1,200 and 6,000 in the Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea. The largest islands are Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios.

Greece's EEZ is bordered to the west by Albania and Italy, to the south by Libya and Egypt, and to the east by Cyprus and Turkey.

Iceland

India

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 6,159,032 km² (2,378,016 mi²). 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 (34,000 mi). The five main islands are: Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Western New Guinea. There are two major island groups (Nusa Tenggara and the Maluku Islands) and sixty smaller island groups.

Ireland

Since independence, Ireland's territorial waters were limited to 3 nautical miles (5.6 km). In 1964, her territorial waters were extended to 12 nautical miles (22 km) from the baseline covering an area of 41,000 km² (16,000 mi²), although several European countries retained fishing rights between 6–12 nautical miles (11–22 km). In 1976, Ireland's exclusive economic zone was extended out to 200 nautical miles (370 km), increasing her maritime area to 450,000 km² (170,000 mi²). In 1996, Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which allows her to claim the continental shelf out to 350 nautical miles (650 km) from the baseline. Ireland has made claims under UNCLOS for the Porcupine Abyssal Plain in 2005, the seabed of the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay in 2006, and also the Hatton Rockall area in 2009. She was awarded the Porcupine Abyssal claim in 2007 adding 39,000 km² (15,000 mi²) of seabed to the State's continental shelf. The other two claims are still under discussion with neighbouring states; the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay with France, Spain and the United Kingdom; and the Hatton Rockall area with Denmark, Iceland and the United Kingdom. In 2006, Ireland claimed her contiguous zone out to 24 nautical miles (44 km) from the baseline.

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.

Italy

Italy has an EEZ of 541,915 km² (209,235 mi²). The country claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores, and its three coastlines are the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, the Ionian Sea to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Italy's EEZ is limited by maritime boundaries with neighboring countries to the northwest, east and southeast.

Italy's western sea territory stretches from the west coast of Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea, including the island of Sardinia. The island of Sicily is in the southernmost area. Lampedusa, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea, is the country's southernmost point. Italy shares treaty-defined maritime boundaries with France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Malta, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia.

Japan

Japan has the world's eighth-largest exclusive economic zone, covering 4,479,674 km² (1,729,612 mi²). It claims an EEZ of 200 nautical miles from its shores.

Japan has disputes over its EEZ boundaries with all its Asian neighbors (China, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan). The above, and relevant maps at the Sea Around Us Project both indicate Japan's claimed boundaries, and do not take into account the claims of adjacent jurisdictions.

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 cover a total surface area of 3,269,386 km², and places Mexico among the countries with the largest areas in the world.

Myanmar

New Zealand

New Zealand's EEZ covers 4,083,744 km² (1,576,742 mi²), 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 (the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency).

North Korea

The exclusive economic zone of North Korea stretches 200 nautical miles from its basepoints in both the West Sea (Yellow Sea) and the Sea of Japan. The EEZ was declared in 1977 after North Korea had contested the validity of the Northern Limit Lines (NLL) 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

The Kingdom of 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 the shelf in the Barents Sea.

Pakistan

Area: 290,000 square kilometres (110,000 sq mi)

The coast of Pakistan is 1,046 kilometres (650 mi) long, extending from Sir Creek in the east to Gwatar Bay in the west and the EEZ extends up to 290,000 square kilometres (110,000 sq mi) which is equivalent to more than 30% of its land area and ranks sixty-sixth in the world by area.

Pakistan had an EEZ of 240,000 square kilometres (93,000 sq mi) before their case was accepted by UNCLCS. Pakistan Navy with the help of the National Oceanographic Organization (NIO) initiated the continental shelf case at ministerial level in 1995.

On 26 Aug 2013, a seven-member sub-commission with members from Japan, China, Mozambique, Kenya, Denmark, Georgia and Argentina was formulated at UNCLCS to evaluate the technical details of Pakistan's case and after a year accepted Pakistan's claim.

On 13 March 2015, UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) accepted recommendations for extension of the outer limits of the continental shelf on Pakistan's case so far 80 countries had submitted claims to UNCLCS out of which recommendations of 22 countries including Pakistan had been finalised.

It was a historic event in the country's history when Pakistan became the first country in the region to have its continental shelf extended to 350 nm.

Some of the claimed territories overlapped the Omani claim. It is believed that the verdict in favour of Pakistan was announced after successful negotiation with Oman.

Peru

Area: 857,000 km²

Philippines

The Philippines' EEZ covers 2,263,816 km² (874,064 mi²).

Poland

The Polish EEZ covers the area of 30,533 km² (11,789 mi²) within the Baltic Sea.

Portugal

Portugal has the 20th largest EEZ in the world. Presently, it is divided in three non-contiguous sub-zones:

• Continental Portugal 327,667 km²
• Azores 953,633 km²
• Madeira 446,108 km²
• Total : 1,727,408 km²

Portugal submitted a claim to extend its jurisdiction over an additional 2.15 million square kilometres of the adjacent 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 previously objected to 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 has no longer disputed the Portuguese claim since 2015.

Romania

Area: 23,627 km²

Russia

Russia's exclusive economic zone, the world's fourth largest, is composed of:

• Kaliningrad (Baltic Sea) – 11,634 km²
• Saint Petersburg (Baltic Sea) – 12,759 km²
• Barents Sea – 1,308,140 km²
• Black Sea (without the Crimean EEZ) – 66,854 km²
• Pacific – 3,419,202 km²
• Siberia – 3,277,292 km²
• Total – 8,095,881 km²

Senegal

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.

• Mainland – 1,068,659 km²
• Prince Edward islands – 466,879 km²

South Korea

Area: 300,851 (225,214) km²

Spain

Area: 1,039,233 km²

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Area: 299,397 km²

Turkey

Turkey's EEZ is bordered by Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria in the Black Sea to the north, Greece in the Aegean Sea to the west, and Cyprus and Syria in the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Turkey is one of the few countries to not have signed UNCLOS and disputes Greece's and Cyprus' EEZ.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has the world's fifth-largest exclusive economic zone of 6,805,586 km² (2,627,651 mi²) 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. And the EEZ around Gibraltar is disputed by Spain, which claims the territory.

^† A part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, which together has an EEZ of 1,641,294 square km.

United States

The United States' exclusive economic zone is the largest in the world, covering 11,351,000 km². Areas of its EEZ are located in three oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea.

Note, the totals in the table actually add up to 12,234,403 square km and 4,723,705 square miles.

Vietnam

Vietnam claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 1,395,096 km² (538,650 mi²) with 200 nautical miles from its shores. These figures do not include the claimed EEZ areas of the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands. Vietnam has disputes mainly with the People's Republic of China due to the nine-dash line.

Countries with the most distant EEZs

Rankings by area

Rankings by total maritime area