United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the United States

PART V

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

Article 55
Specific legal regime of the exclusive economic zone

The exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the
territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime established in this
Part, under which the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the
rights and freedoms of other States are governed by the relevant provisions
of this Convention.

Article 56
Rights, jurisdiction and duties of the coastal State in the
exclusive economic zone

1. In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal 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 sea-bed and of the
sea-bed 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 this
Convention with regard to:
(i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations
and structures;
(ii) marine scientific research;
(iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment;
(c) other rights and duties provided for in this Convention.

2. In exercising its rights and performing its duties under this Convention
in the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have due regard to
the rights and duties of other States and shall act in a manner compatible
with the provisions of this Convention.
3. The rights set out in this article with respect to the sea-bed and
subsoil shall be exercised in accordance with Part VI.

Article 57
Breadth of the exclusive economic zone

The exclusive economic zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from
the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

Article 58
Rights and duties of other States
in the exclusive economic zone

1. In the exclusive economic zone all States, whether coastal or
land-locked, enjoy, subject to the relevant provisions of this Convention,
the freedoms referred to in article 87 of navigation and overflight and of
the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and other internationally
lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms, such as those associated
with the operation of ships, aircraft and submarine cables and pipelines,
and compatible with the other provisions of this Convention.

2. Articles 88 to 115 and other pertinent rules of international law apply
to the exclusive economic zone in so far as they are not incompatible with
this Part.

3. In exercising their rights and performing their duties under this
Convention in the exclusive economic zone, States shall have due regard to
the rights and duties of the coastal State and shall comply with the laws
and regulations adopted by the coastal State in accordance with the
provisions of this Convention and other rules of international law in so
far as they are not incompatible with this Part.

Article 59
Basis for the resolution of conflicts regarding the
attribution of rights and jurisdiction in the exclusive
economic zone

In cases where this Convention does not attribute rights or jurisdiction to
the coastal State or to other States within the exclusive economic zone,
and a conflict arises between the interests of the coastal State and any
other State or States, the conflict should be resolved on the basis of
equity and in the light of all the relevant circumstances, taking into
account the respective importance of the interests involved to the parties
as well as to the international community as a whole.

Article 60
Artificial islands, installations and structures in the
exclusive economic zone

1. In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have the
exclusive right to construct and to authorize and regulate the
construction, operation and use of:
(a) artificial islands;
(b) installations and structures for the purposes provided for in article
56 and other economic purposes;
(c) installations and structures which may interfere with the exercise of
the rights of the coastal State in the zone.

2. The coastal State shall have exclusive jurisdiction over such artificial
islands installations and structures, including jurisdiction with regard to
customs fiscal health, safety and immigration laws and regulations.

3. Due notice must be given of the construction of such artificial islands,
installations or structures, and permanent means for giving warning of
their presence must be maintained. Any installations or structures which
are abandoned or disused shall be removed to ensure safety of navigation,
taking into account any generally accepted international standards
established in this regard by the competent international organization.
Such removal shall also have due regard to fishing, the protection of the
marine environment and the rights and duties of other States. Appropriate
publicity shall be given to the depth, position and dimensions of any
installations or structures not entirely removed.

4. The coastal State may, where necessary, establish reasonable safety
zones around such artificial islands, installations and structures in which
it may take appropriate measures to ensure the safety both of navigation
and of the artificial islands, installations and structures.

5. The breadth of the safety zones shall be determined by the coastal
State, taking into account applicable international standards. Such zones
shall be designed to ensure that they are reasonably related to the nature
and function of the artificial islands, installations or structures, and
shall not exceed a distance of 500 metres around them, measured from each
point of their outer edge, except as authorized by generally accepted
international standards or as recommended by the competent international
organization. Due notice shall be given of the extent of safety zones.

6. All ships must respect these safety zones and shall comply with
generally accepted international standards regarding navigation in the
vicinity of artificial islands, installations, structures and safety zones.

7. Artificial islands, installations and structures and the safety zones
around them may not be established where interference may be caused to the
use of recognized sea lanes essential to international navigation.

8. Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the
status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their
presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the
exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf.

Article 61
Conservation of the living resources

1. The coastal State shall determine the allowable catch of the living
resources in its exclusive economic zone.

2. The coastal State, taking into account the best scientific evidence
available to it, shall ensure through proper conservation and management
measures that the maintenance of the living resources in the exclusive
economic zone is not endangered by over-exploitation. As appropriate, the
coastal State and competent international organizations, whether
subregional, regional or global, shall co-operate to this end.

3. Such measures shall also be designed to maintain or restore populations
of harvested species at levels which can produce the maximum sustainable
yield, as qualified by relevant environmental and economic factors,
including the economic needs of coastal fishing communities and the special
requirements of developing States, and taking into account fishing
patterns, the interdependence of stocks and any generally recommended
international minimum standards, whether subregional, regional or global.

4. In taking such measures the coastal State shall take into consideration
the effects on species associated with or dependent upon harvested species
with a view to maintaining or restoring populations of such associated or
dependent species above levels at which their reproduction may become
seriously threatened.

5. Available scientific information, catch and fishing effort statistics,
and other data relevant to the conservation of fish stocks shall be
contributed and exchanged on a regular basis through competent
international organizations, whether subregional, regional or global, where
appropriate and with participation by all States concerned, including
States whose nationals are allowed to fish in the exclusive economic zone.

Article 62
Utilization of the living resources

1. The coastal State shall promote the objective of optimum utilization of
the living resources in the exclusive economic zone without prejudice to
article 61.

2. The coastal State shall determine its capacity to harvest the living
resources of the exclusive economic zone. Where the coastal State does not
have the capacity to harvest the entire allowable catch, it shall, through
agreements or other arrangements and pursuant to the terms, conditions,
laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 4, give other States access
to the surplus of the allowable catch, having particular regard to the
provisions of articles 69 and 70, especially in relation to the developing
States mentioned therein.

3. In giving access to other States to its exclusive economic zone under
this article the coastal State shall take into account all relevant
factors, including, inter alia, the significance of the living resources of
the area to the economy of the coastal State concerned and its other
national interests, the provisions of articles 69 and 70, the requirements
of developing States in the subregion or region in harvesting part of the
surplus and the need to minimize economic dislocation in States whose
nationals have habitually fished in the zone or which have made substantial
efforts in research and identification of stocks.

4. Nationals of other States fishing in the exclusive economic zone shall
comply with the conservation measures and with the other terms and
conditions established in the laws and regulations of the coastal State.
These laws and regulations shall be consistent with this Convention and may
relate, inter alia, to the following:

(a) licensing of fishermen, fishing vessels and equipment, including
payment of fees and other forms of remuneration, which, in the case
of developing coastal States, may consist of adequate compensation in
the field of financing, equipment and technology relating to the
fishing industry;
(b) determining the species which may be caught, and fixing quotas of
catch, whether in relation to particular stocks or groups of stocks
or catch per vessel over a period of time or to the catch by
nationals of any State during a specified period;
(c) regulating seasons and areas of fishing, the types, sizes and amount
of gear, and the types, sizes and number of fishing vessels that may
be used;
(d) fixing the age and size of fish and other species that may be caught;
(e) specifying information required of fishing vessels, including catch
and effort statistics and vessel position reports;
(f) requiring, under the authorization and control of the coastal State,
the conduct of specified fisheries research programmes and regulating
the conduct of such research, including the sampling of catches,
disposition of samples and reporting of associated scientific data;
(g) the placing of observers or trainees on board such vessels by the
coastal State;
(h) the landing of all or any part of the catch by such vessels in the
ports of the coastal State;
(i) terms and conditions relating to joint ventures or other co-operative
arrangements;
(j) requirements for the training of personnel and the transfer of
fisheries technology, including enhancement of the coastal State’s
capability of undertaking fisheries research;
(k) enforcement procedures.

5. Coastal States shall give due notice of conservation and management laws
and regulations.

Article 63
Stocks occurring within the exclusive economic zones of two
or more coastal States or both within the exclusive economic
zone and in an area beyond and adjacent to it

1. Where the same stock or stocks of associated species occur within the
exclusive economic zones of two or more coastal States, these States shall
seek, either directly or through appropriate subregional or regional
organizations, to agree upon the measures necessary to co-ordinate and
ensure the conservation and development of such stocks without prejudice to
the other provisions of this Part.

2. Where the same stock or stocks of associated species occur both within
the exclusive economic zone and in an area beyond and adjacent to the zone,
the coastal State and the States fishing for such stocks in the adjacent
area shall seek, either directly or through appropriate subregional or
regional organizations, to agree upon the measures necessary for the
conservation of these stocks in the adjacent area.

Article 64
Highly migratory species

1. The coastal State and other States whose nationals fish in the region
for the highly migratory species listed in Annex I shall co-operate
directly or through appropriate international organizations with a view to
ensuring conservation and promoting the objective of optimum utilization of
such species throughout the region, both within and beyond the exclusive
economic zone. In regions for which no appropriate international
organization exists, the coastal State and other States whose nationals
harvest these species in the region shall co-operate to establish such an
organization and participate in its work.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 apply in addition to the other provisions
of this Part.


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *