Implications of Exclusive Economic Zone Management and Regional Cooperation Between South Pacific Small Midocean Island Commonwealth Territories

Abstract

This article explores the extent to which nine small midocean island Commonwealth territories in the South Pacific have tackled the challenges of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) management. The sample territories (the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) all have populations of less than 1 million, are islands, possess 200-nautical-mile EEZ entitlements in excess of 100,000 square nautical miles, and are past or present members of the British Commonwealth. Through regional organizations such as the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency, the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, and the South Pacific Commission, impressively extensive steps have been taken to sustainably develop or identify the marine resources of the territories' EEZs.