The Framework for Coastal State Jurisdiction over Fishing in the EEZ

Abstract

This Chapter outlines the legal framework for the regulation of living resources in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as established in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and other relevant international instruments. It demonstrates how the LOSC seeks to balance the competing interests of coastal and flag States and argues that while the ‘non-specific’ standards established in the LOSC have subsequently been strengthened by the recognition of additional conservation and management concepts, the basic rights and obligations of coastal States remain ambiguous, open-ended, and highly qualified. In order to clarify this ambiguity, it looks beyond the basic list of rights and duties set out on the face of the LOSC to establish what coastal States must, may, and must not do in exercising their sovereign rights over living resources in the EEZ. It examines the approaches taken by international courts and tribunals in reviewing the innovations and interpretations offered by coastal States in their implementation of the LOSC, and identifies the broader, normative principles that constrain and enable coastal State jurisdiction in the EEZ. This includes discussion of the rules of due regard and due diligence, the role of the margin of appreciation doctrine, and the extent to which a coastal State may act to protect—or prevent interference with—its sovereign rights. The Chapter concludes by drawing these concepts together to outline the basic framework that governs the continuum of jurisdiction over living resources in the EEZ.