Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006

Exclusive economic zone of State.

87.— (1) The exclusive economic zone of the State is the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial seas subject to the specific legal regime established in Part V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“Convention”), done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 2 .

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone is the line every point of which lies at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline.

(3) Where because of the proximity of a similar maritime zone of another state the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone specified in subsection (2) cannot be applied, the boundary of the exclusive economic zone is the equitable equidistant line between the State and the other state. The Government may by order (which they may by order revoke or amend) prescribe the co-ordinates of latitude and longitude of the appropriate equitable equidistant line or lines.

(4) In the exclusive economic zone the State has—

(a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, 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 the relevant provisions of the Convention with regard to—

(i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures,

(ii) marine scientific research, and

(iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment,

and

(c) other rights and duties provided for in international law.