Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States

Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States
Name	United States Exclusive Economic Zone
Caption	Map showing the scope of the United States' maritime zones
Area km2	approx. 11,351,000
Established	1983–1994
Legal basis	United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (influence)
Coastline	over 95,000 km (including insular territories)

Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States is the maritime zone extending up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States and its insular territories, comprising one of the world's largest national maritime areas. The zone surrounds states, territories, and possessions including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and numerous minor outlying islands, and interfaces with maritime zones of Canada, Mexico, Russia, Cuba, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Belize and other coastal states.

Geography and Extent

The zone encompasses waters adjacent to Continental United States, the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the North Pacific Ocean, the Eastern Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean as it relates to Alaska. It includes maritime features such as the Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, Barents Sea (remote neighbors), Gulf of Alaska, Bering Strait, Johnston Atoll, Midway Atoll, Wake Island, Navassa Island, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef. The EEZ borders or overlaps with the zones of Canada (Canada–US maritime boundary), Mexico (Mexico–US maritime boundary), Russia (Russia–US maritime boundary), Cuba (Cuba–US maritime boundary), The Bahamas (Bahamas–US maritime boundary), Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela in distant baselines and continental shelf contexts.

Legal Basis and Jurisdiction

The United States' rights in its EEZ derive from principles codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and customary international law as applied in US practice, with domestic implementation via statutes and agencies including the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and executive actions from administrations of presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Jurisdictional claims are administered through federal departments and agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Coast Guard, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense. The legal framework interacts with instruments like the Convention on Biological Diversity and regional arrangements exemplified by the North Pacific Fisheries Commission, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and bilateral agreements with Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Japan.

Economic Resources and Activities

The EEZ hosts vast living and non-living resources exploited under management regimes overseen by entities such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and regional fishery management councils like the New England Fishery Management Council and Pacific Fishery Management Council. Fisheries include stocks of Atlantic cod, Alaskan pollock, Pacific salmon, Yellowfin tuna, Swordfish (Xiphias gladius), King crab, Snow crab, Bluefin tuna, and Spiny lobster in Caribbean waters. Energy resources encompass offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, potential hydrocarbons on the Outer Continental Shelf, and emerging interests in offshore wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, New York, California, and North Carolina. Mineral prospects include polymetallic nodules and seafloor minerals in remote areas associated with Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Clarion-Clipperton Zone interests, while seabed mapping and hydrographic work involve organizations like the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and NOAA Office of Coast Survey.

Environmental Management and Conservation

Conservation and environmental protection within the EEZ are implemented through statutory measures and programs including the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and marine protected areas designated by presidents and agencies, such as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Scientific research is conducted by institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA Fisheries, United States Geological Survey, and university programs at University of California San Diego, University of Washington, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and University of Miami. Environmental challenges include climate change, ocean acidification, coral reef degradation affecting Florida Reef Tract, Great Barrier Reef comparisons, invasive species such as lionfish, and pollution issues traced to shipping lanes tied to Port of Los Angeles, Port of New York and New Jersey, Port Miami, and Port Everglades.

Security and Enforcement

Enforcement of EEZ rights relies on agencies and vessels of the United States Coast Guard, naval assets of the United States Navy, aerial surveillance by United States Air Force and United States Space Force sensors, and law enforcement cooperation with partners like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Mexican Navy. Key statutes for enforcement include the Magnuson-Stevens Act and customs and counter-narcotics authorities under the Department of Homeland Security. Security operations intersect with international initiatives such as NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, bilateral patrolling with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Australian Defence Force, and cooperative efforts in the Arctic Council with Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (Greenland). Response to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing engages the United States Agency for International Development and regional fisheries management organizations like the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

International Disputes and Boundary Delimitations

Maritime boundary delimitation has produced negotiated agreements and unresolved issues addressed by treaties and commissions such as the 1990 US–Canada Maritime Boundary Agreement, the 1983 Maritime Boundary Treaty concepts, and bilateral talks with Mexico culminating in agreements on the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific boundaries. Arctic and Bering Sea overlaps prompted discussions with Russia and Canada involving continental shelf claims and provisional arrangements; disputes have involved cases before international bodies like the International Court of Justice and submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Tensions over access and rights have arisen with Cuba over fisheries and with island states in the Pacific on competing claims, while the strategic importance of features like Guam and Wake Island affects regional diplomacy with China, India, and Philippines in the Indo-Pacific arena.

Category:Exclusive economic zones Category:United States maritime policy