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GCIL HOME   HIGHLIGHTS AGREEMENT ON THE CONSERVATION OF ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS PAPAHANAUMOKUAKEA MARINE MONUMENT R.M.S. TITANIC SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS SUBJECT AREAS Antarctic Arctic Biological Diversity Climate Change Environment and Trade Extraterritorial Appl. of Laws Fisheries Heritage Marine Debris Marine Mammals Marine Pollution Marine Protected Areas Marine Turtles Marine Scientific Research Seabed Management Seabirds Ships, Regulation of Survey and Charting Treaties Underwater Sound Zones and Boundaries ACRONYMS REFERENCES

MARITIME ZONES AND BOUNDARIES The Office of General Counsel for International Law The maritime zones recognized under international law include internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, the high seas and the Area. With the exception of the high seas and the Area, each of these maritime zones is measured from baselines determined in accordance with customary international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. Generally speaking, the normal baseline is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts official recognized by the coastal State. Special rules for determining the baseline apply in a variety of circumstances, such as with bays, ports, mouths of rivers, deeply indented coastlines, fringing reefs, and roadsteads. NOAA nautical charts depict the official U.S. baseline as well as the limits of the U.S. Territorial Sea, the U.S. Contiguous Zone, and the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). These maritime limits are subject to modification, as represented on future charts. The lines shown on the most recent chart edition take precedence. For the official description of the various U.S. maritime zones, Three Nautical Mile Line and Natural Resource Boundary see the NOAA Coast Pilot or download limits from U.S. Maritime Zones/Boundaries on NOAA Charts. Additional reference information: Demystifying the Maritime Zones and Other Marine Boundaries on NOAA'S Nautical Charts. (Paper) (Presentation) Shalowitz, Aaron and Michael W. Reed. 1962. Shore and Sea Boundaries. Volume One (of Three). This volume is out of print but may be downloaded. Shalowitz, Aaron and Michael W. Reed. 1964. Shore and Sea Boundaries, Volume Two (of Three). This volume is out of print but may be downloaded. (Shalowitz, Aaron and) Reed, Michael W. 2000. Shore and Sea Boundaries: Volume Three (of Three). This volume is out of print but may be downloaded. Internal Waters Internal waters are the waters (for example, bays and rivers) on the landward side of the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Each coastal State has full sovereignty over its internal waters as if they were part of its land territory. The right of innocent passage does not apply in internal waters. Territorial Sea Each coastal State may claim a territorial sea that extends seaward up to 12 nautical miles (nm) from its baselines. The coastal State exercises sovereignty over its territorial sea, the air space above it, and the seabed and subsoil beneath it. Foreign flag ships enjoy the right of innocent passage while transiting the territorial sea subject to laws and regulations adopted by the coastal State that are in conformity with the Law of the Sea Convention and other rules of international law relating to such passage. The U.S. claimed a 12 nm territorial sea in 1988 (Presidential Proclamation No. 5928, December 27, 1988). Additional reference information: Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988. Territorial Sea of the United States of America. (54 Fed. Reg. 1977 (Jan. 9, 1989)) . Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, "Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation to Extend the Territorial Sea" (Oct. 4, 1988) Contiguous Zone Each coastal State may claim a contiguous zone adjacent to and beyond its territorial sea that extends seaward up to 24 nm from its baselines. In its contiguous zone, a coastal State may exercise the control necessary to prevent the infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea, and punish infringement of those laws and regulations committed within its territory or territorial sea. Additionally, in order to control traffic in archaeological and historical objects found at sea, a coastal State may presume that their removal from the seabed of the contiguous zone without its consent is unlawful. The U.S. claimed a 24 nm contiguous zone in 1999 (Presidential Proclamation No. 7219, August 2, 1999). Additional reference information: Presidential Proclamation 7219 of August 2, 1999, Contiguous Zone of the United States. (64 Fed. Reg. 48701 (August 8, 1999)). Correction to Proclamation 7219 (64 Fed. Reg. 49844 (Sept. 14, 1999)). Correction to Proclamation 7219 (64 Fed. Reg. 49276 (Sept. 10, 1999)). Vice-President Al Gore, "Extension of Federal Enforcement Zone in U.S. Coastal Waters Will Help Prevent Violations of Environmental, Customs, or Immigration Laws" (Sept. 2, 1999). Exclusive Economic Zone Each coastal State may claim an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) beyond and adjacent to its territorial sea that extends seaward up to 200 nm from its baselines (or out to a maritime boundary with another coastal State). Within its EEZ, a coastal State has: (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources, whether living or nonliving, of the seabed and subsoil and the superjacent waters and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds; (b) jurisdiction as provided for in international law with regard to the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures, marine scientific research, and the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and (c) other rights and duties provided for under international law. The U.S. claimed a 200 nm EEZ in 1983 (Presidential Proclamation No. 5030 of March 10, 1983). The U.S. EEZ overlaps its 12 nm - 24 nm contiguous zone. Note: Under certain U.S. fisheries laws, such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the term EEZ is defined as having an inner boundary that is coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of the coastal states of the U.S. See 16 U.S.C. 1802(11). The seaward boundary of each of the coastal states of the U.S. is landward of the outer boundary of the 12 nm U.S. Territorial Sea, and generally extends seaward from three to nine miles from the baseline. (See below for further information on the Three Nautical Mile Line and the Natural Resources Boundary.) Additional reference information: Proclamation 5030 of March 10, 1983. Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States. (48 Fed. Reg. 10605 (March 14, 1983)). President Ronald Reagan, Statement on United States Ocean Policy, 19 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 383 (March 10, 1983). Fact Sheet, United States Ocean Policy, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, Mar. 10, 1983. Department of State Public Notice 2237, "Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries; Notice of Limits," (60 Fed. Reg. 43825 (August 23, 1995)). Demystifying the Maritime Zones and other Marine Boundaries on NOAA Charts (Ole Varmer, Suzanne Bass and Meredith Westington, paper presented at Coastal Zone 05). Paper and presentation. Three Nautical Mile Line The Three Nautical Mile Line, as measured from the territorial sea baseline and previously identified as the outer limit of the U.S. territorial sea, is retained on NOAA charts because it continues to be used in certain federal laws. Note: Since the "coast line," a term used in the Submerged Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq., and the baseline are determined using the same criteria under international law, the Three Nautical Mile Line is generally the same as the seaward boundaries of the coastal states of the United States under the Submerged Lands Act. There are exceptions; therefore, the Three Nautical Mile Line does not necessarily depict the seaward limit of states under the Submerged Lands Act. Natural Resources Boundary The nine (9) nautical mile Natural Resources Boundary is the seaward limit of the submerged lands of Puerto Rico, Texas and the Gulf coast of Florida. It coincides with the inner limit of the outer continental shelf under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Continental Shelf Each coastal State has a continental shelf that is comprised of the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nm from its baselines where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance (or out to a maritime boundary with another coastal State). Wherever the outer edge of a coastal State's continental margin extends beyond 200 nm from its baselines, it may establish the outer limit of its continental shelf in accordance with Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The portion of a coastal State's continental shelf that lies beyond the 200 nm limit is often called the extended continental shelf. A coastal State has sovereign rights and exclusive jurisdiction over its continental shelf for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources. The natural resources of the continental shelf consist of the mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil together with living organisms belonging to sedentary species, that is to say, organisms which, at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or subsoil. The U.S. has claimed a continental shelf that extends out at least 200 nm (Presidential Proclamation No. 2667 of September 28, 1945 and Presidential Proclamation No. 5030 of March 10, 1983). Since 2001, the U.S. has been engaged in gathering and analyzing data to determine the outer limits of its extended continental shelf. Additional reference information: Continental Shelf Convention (1958) Presidential Proclamation No. 2667, Policy of the United States With Respect to the Natural Resources of the Subsoil and Sea Bed of the Continental Shelf (10 Fed. Reg. 12303 (Sept. 28, 1945)) White House Press Release, Proclamations Concerning U.S. Jurisdiction Over Natural Resources of Coastal Areas and High Seas", 13 Dep't State Bull. 484 (1945). Presidential Proclamation No. 5030 of March 10, 1983, Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States (48 Fed. Reg. 10605 (March 14, 1983)) President Ronald Reagan, Statement on United States Ocean Policy, 19 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 383 (March 10, 1983). Fact Sheet, United States Ocean Policy, Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, Mar. 10, 1983. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, "Authority to Issue Outer Continental Shelf Mineral Leases in the Gorda Ridge Area, M-36952 (May 30, 1985) U.S. Department of State, "U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project." NOAA, "U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project" High Seas The high seas are comprised of all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State, or in the archipelagic waters1 of an archipelagic State. Area The Area is comprised of the seabed and subsoil beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. It does not include superajacent waters (i.e., the water column) or the air space above those waters. The Area and its resources are the common heritage of mankind, and no State may claim or exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights over any part of the Area or its resources. LOSC. arts. 1(1), 135-137. Footnote 1 Archipelagic waters are the waters enclosed by the archipelagic baselines drawn in accordance with LOSC art. 47. The archipelagic state has full sovereignty over these waters, but foreign vessels have the right of innocent passage through archipelagic waters (like they do through territorial seas) subject to LOSC. art. 53.