Coastal State Jurisdiction over Living Resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone

Abstract

Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), coastal States have sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage the living resources of the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, nearly forty years after the adoption of the LOSC , there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the nature and extent of these sovereign rights. This book examines the ways in which coastal States can exercise authority on the basis of their sovereign rights over living resources in the EEZ. It explores the key concepts of ‘fishing’ and ‘fishing related activities’ to establish what vessels and which activities can be regulated by coastal States, canvasses the criteria and conditions that coastal States can apply as part of regulating foreign access to their resources, and considers the regulation of unlicensed foreign fishing vessels in transit through the EEZ. It also examines the way in which such regulations can be enforced within the EEZ and the circumstances under which enforcement can take place beyond the EEZ following hot pursuit. Based on its review and analysis of the practice of 145 coastal States, the book identifies the contemporary ‘extent’ of coastal State jurisdiction over living resources in the EEZ and proposes a formulation of the underlying and enduring ‘nature’ of that jurisdiction which could be applied to resolve future jurisdictional challenges in the EEZ.