Talk:Exclusive economic zone

Australia's EEZ

The figures for Australia's EEZ are incorrect. It is 8,148,250 km2 plus 2.5 million square kilometres confirmed by the UN. The 2.5m figure is now effectively part of Australia's EEZ. The text claims that it is beyond Australia's EEZ. This is incorrect, the EEZ is defined by 200nm or the limit of the continental shelf, which ever is greater. The media ministerial release says: "...confirming Australia’s jurisdiction over an additional 2.5 million square kilometres of seabed." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thefunnelweb (talk • contribs) 23:58, 30 August 2009 (UTC)

No, the EEZ does not include continental shelf beyond 200nm. (For a general definition, see Article 55 in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of The Sea. Descriptions of Australia's various maritime zones can be found here and here.) The minister's media release does not mention the term "EEZ" once; it talks in terms of Australia's "rights" and "jurisdiction". -- Avenue (talk) 01:34, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Diagram Problems

The diagram shows the continental shelf being further out than the EEZ border, however according to my understanding, EEZ is a political definition while "continental shelf" is a geographical definition, and hence the continental shelf may or may not be closer to the continent than the EEZ border. Maybe having the continental shelf removed would make the diagram more accurate?—Tokek 23:48, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree the diagram is potentially confusing, especially since we do not discuss or even link to continental shelves anywhere in the article. However a state does have some rights over their continental shelf even when it extends beyond the EEZ, and while its definition certainly relies on elements of physical geography, there are some parts that are geographically arbitrary and could be seen as a "political definition". So a brief mention of it here seems worthwhile to me. Ideally the diagram would show both possibilities; a continental shelf ending within the EEZ and also extending beyond it.– Avenue 01:19, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Poor References

The references such as the for the UK's totals stake to claim are no where to be found, as with other countries. --Reis Scofield (Student Marine Geography, Cardiff)--

Also, does this take into account that after 2005 or 2006 the EEZ in the EU is common to all countries? territorial water still goes to the 12 miles, but from then on, they are now european waters. Don't have a reference, sorry Galf 10:39, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Not only are there no references, but the Falklands appear not to be included! Biofoundationsoflanguage 09:55, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

European Union

Reportedly (see previous talk section) the EEZ for all EU members will become shared in 2005 or 2006. If true, it should be added to the article.– Beland 16:19, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Map request

It would be exceedingly useful to have a map showing how the world's oceans are divided up by various countries. It might have to be very large.– Beland 16:19, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it would be very good. Also, if not a single map, then we should start at least including maps for as many countries as we can find. Better if they show territorial waters + EEZ + continental shelf claim. Alinor 18:56, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

I inserted some maps based on Image:EEZ France.png and on information found on this website. Gugganij (talk) 00:22, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

the Hainan island case

I would say this case has nothing to do with EEZ. Jackzhp 00:16, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Kiribati

Issue 501 of the Atoll Research Bulletin states that Kiribati has the second largest EEZ in the world.

“ With an EEZ covering more than 3.5 million km2 - the second largest in the world - it is not surprising that the fisheries sector in Kiribati is seen as both a source of essential livelihood at the subsistence level and as a means of generating revenue by promoting the country's seemingly vast store of marine resources (Thistlethwait and Votaw, 1992: 28-29). ”

--Henry W. Schmitt (talk) 07:43, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Rankings

It seems that the rankings are incomplete, for example, in the total land area + sea, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Algeria, the DR Congo, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Mexico are not included, although their land area alone is larger than Madagascar's land + sea. Kazakhstan is land locked, and DR Congo almost landlocked, but Indonesia is full of islands and has a more than 50,000 km of coastlines (the 2nd longest after Canada), so one would expect it to have a large EEZ. —Preceding unsigned comment added by AtikuX (talk • contribs) 07:21, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Good point. I've put an incomplete tag on that section for now. -- Avenue (talk) 06:06, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

OK I've worked through the countries down to Madagascar from Countries_by_area and inserted the ones with larger EEZ+TW+Land. --Uxejn (talk) 21:27, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

• Ranking listings have no reference. What is the source of this data? Федоров (talk) 17:12, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

The detail below. Also Countries_by_area . --Uxejn (talk) 20:47, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

I added the list of all countries. I also moved it to the end since it is now alot longer. I limited the countries to those on the [List of sovereign states]. However, I do not have the numbers for Northern cyprus, Abkhazia, and Somaliland so they are included in the de jure countries. Feel free to change that if you find the numbers. CK6569 (talk) 21:02, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

New Discussion

A discussion has been started at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries/Lists of countries which could affect the inclusion criteria and title of this and other lists of countries. Editors are invited to participate. Pfainuk talk 12:17, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Dispute between Spain and Portugal over the Savage isles

The last sentence is inaccurate as these isles are not inhabited. There are some environment officers whose aim is to protect the natural reservoir. Moreover, these isles do not have drink water and it is obvious that they do not have a sustainable economy, nor even a flag. --Merliomar (talk) 11:04, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

Those isles are in fact inhabited by those officers, as you have stated. For this reason the statement is correct. There are also many other islands (like Porto Santo, that belongs to the same archipelago) and countries in main land (like in the arabic region) that don't have enough or no drink water, but are able to produce it by desalination or import it. Even in Barcelona they have done it over the 2008 Summer. They do have a sustainable economy, explored by the reservoir, whose funds are able to supported the stay of those officers. Rui.marinheiro (talk) 15:50, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Issue of edits regarding the "territorial sea"

I had edited the text to indicate that what is referenced as the "territorial sea" is also known as "internal waters". This is clearly and accurately depicted in the illustration. The outward defined limits, originating at the coast or established baseline, are: sovereign "territorial waters" - out to 12 nmi from baseline, the "contiguous zone" - an additional 12 nmi for a total of 24 nmi from baseline, the "exclusive economic zone" - 200 nmi from baseline and including territorial waters and the contiguous zone.

My edits were reset as though my changes were in contravention to the UNCLOS. They were not.Федоров (talk) 02:02, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Your edits did contradict the text of the UNCLOS, specifically Article 55 (which our article quotes and cites as a source). This reads (in part) as follows: "The exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea ..."[1] [emphasis added]. Our illustration (right) can be read as being inconsistent with this definition, if you take it as saying that the EEZ includes the whole 200 nautical mile distance from the baseline indicated by the long arrow. It could also be read as saying that the EEZ is only the portion beyond the contiguous zone (which is also incorrect), if you focus on the colours instead. So the illustration is ambiguous, and should probably be redone.

The "territorial sea" is not the same as "internal waters", either; these are defined in Articles 3-4 and Article 8 respectively.[2] Our illustration seems fairly consistent with the definition of those two terms, although the outer boundary of the territorial sea doesn't bend out far enough around the island, and I don't see why the baseline to the right of the island should run miles offshore. (The illustration's talk page lists some further problems.) -- Avenue (talk) 03:15, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

My apologies. You are correct. The term "territorial sea" is synonymous with "territorial waters". In the case of the illustration, the illustration itself is correct. The lead in text of the article correctly states the situation and notes common understanding. The most important point is that outward distances, with the exception of the "contiguous zone", are measured from the coastal baselines. Thus, technically speaking, the EEZ is only 188 nmi wide measured from the outer edge of the territorial sea. However, its outer edge is 200 nmi from the baselines. This detail is generally of little interest to most and thus the EEZ is commonly considered to be 200 nmi wide.Федоров (talk) 13:48, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Norway's EEZ

Norway has not established at EEZ around the Bouvet Island. In 2003, they established territorial waters and a contiguous zone there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stigei (talk • contribs) 20:53, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

United Kingdom

Perhaps a certain French editor under the guise of an IP could explain in what way the United Kingdom's EEZs are different to those of any other country's EEZs, such as the United States' EEZs, Norway's EEZs, Denmark's EEZs, Portugal's EEZs, Australia's EEZs and so on, to warrant all the United Kingdom's EEZs not surrounding the United Kingdom to have to be in a different colour and the point about them not actually being the a part of the United Kingdom needs to be so heavily pushed when those of the US, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Australia and such are not despite being no different to the UK? Bambuway (talk) 08:11, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

I would imagine this has to do with Argentina's claim to the Falklands. That dispute should be included in the Disputes section. Fences&Windows 23:12, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

The guy above, Bambuway, who is actually the sockpuppet of a banned user (User:Signsolid and all his farm of sockpuppets) is a British nationalist who has vandalized various articles since he's been active at Wikipedia. His latest vandalism has been here at the Exclusive Economic Zone article. Apparently it didn't suit him that the article correctly informed readers that the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK, despite the fact that it is clearly stated on the 10 Downing Street website (see here), so he changed not just this article, but also the accompanying map to mask the fact that the EEZ of the British Overseas Territories is not part of the UK's EEZ. Not only that, but he also added on the UK's EEZ map the EEZ of the claimed British Antarctica, despite the fact that all claims over Antarctica have been suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. It's frankly sad that some people don't understand that Wikipedia is an encylopedia which is there to inform people, and not some sort of jingoistic propaganda machine for wannabe nationalists. 90.44.22.18 (talk) 23:27, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

1. If you have evidence of sockpuppetry, file a report at WP:SPI. 2. For the purposes of the article, it is splitting hairs to distinguish the EEZs of the UK from those of its overseas territories. The spat with Argentina over oil drilling in the waters of the Falklands is squarely between the Argentine and British governments.[3] 3. I agree that Antarctic claims are not appropriate for the figure. 4. If you want to be hyperpedantic, at least do it consistently: Puerto Rico, for instance, in not part of the United States of America. Fences&Windows 00:05, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

If Puerto Rico is not part of the US, then it should be listed with a separate color on the map of the US EEZ, just as with the map of the UK EEZ. An encyclopedia is about precision and not oversimplification to satisfy one's national pride. 90.44.22.18 (talk) 01:09, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

The IP is well known, anti-British, French vandal IP who keeps changing his IP but keeps attacking the same articles in the same way. The UK's EEZs are just the same as the EEZs of other countries. He argues the UK's overseas territories are not part of the UK. This is the case for every country with overseas territories. Oh, with one exception, France, whose overseas territories are officially a part of France. That's why he changed the UK's map (despite not changing any of all the others) to exaggerate the UK's overseas territories are not a part of the UK, whereas France's overseas territories are. There is no reason for the EEZs of a country's overseas territories to be a different colour than the EEZ which surrounds the country itself because all the EEZs belong to that country. And there's certainly no reason why the UK's EEZs surrounding its overseas territories should be a different colour to the UK while not the case for other countries. Just as the United States' EEZs, Australia's EEZs, Portugal's EEZs, Norway's EEZs, Denmark's EEZs and so on are all in the same colour, so should all countries' EEZs be in the same colour. All my edit did was to put the UK's map in line with the maps of all the other countries. I'd also like to point out the UK's Antarctic claimed EEZ is no different than the EEZ claims of China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines also shown in this article. Bambuway (talk) 03:53, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Note to Fences&Windows: the above guy, Bambuway, had his account blocked indefinitely by an admin for the sockpuppetry that I revealed yesteday (in case you wonder why I don't log in, that's because this Bambuway/Signsolid guy is a stalker who has harrassed me in the past, and since he will probably come back to Wikipedia under a new account/new sockpuppet, I prefer not to log in). Anyway, now that this guy is banned from Wikipedia (for the time being at least), the article will hopefully be able to return to civil editing and positive contributions. The EEZ of the overseas territories that are not constitutionally part of their sovereign countries (such as the British Overseas Territories or Greenland) should appear with a color distinct from the EEZ of their sovereign countries, since under international law the EEZs are distinct. I will correct some of the maps when the article is unlocked. I don't know the exact situation for each and every country, so other users should correct the maps too as appropriate. 92.154.68.239 (talk) 03:56, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

All EEZs of a country are exactly the same because all EEZs of that country belong to that country and are controlled by that country. A country holds equal sovereignty over all EEZs it owns. So do you plan on colouring each and every EEZ of every territory of that country a different colour to distinguish it from the other territories? In what way is the "mother country" seperate from its territories while its territories are not seperate from each other? All EEZs of a country should be coloured in one colour, just as they always were. There is no reason to seperate the EEZ surrounding the "mother country" from all the EEZs surrounding its territories. You're forgetting one major point. The EEZs don't belong to each of the territories, they belong to the "mother country", as it, not the territories, holds sovereignty over all its EEZs. For example, Puerto Rico does not hold sovereignty over the EEZ surrounding it, the United States does. The Unites States owns and controls the EEZ surrounding Puerto Rico. The same goes for the UK and its overseas territories and for all countries and their overseas territories. A country does not hold some form of a lesser sovereignty over the EEZs which surround its overseas territories than the EEZ which surrounds itself. 88.106.115.72 (talk) 21:39, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

EEZ's in Antarctica - Map

Hi all. What is your opinion about including (or not including) the EEZs around the territorial claims in Antarctica of United Kingdom, New Zealand, France, Norway, Chile and Argentina in EEZ Maps of the respectives countries? Luis wiki (talk) 23:30, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

If the countries in question have claimed an Antarctic EEZ (e.g. Australia - see below), then I think we should show it in a similar way to disputed claims made by other countries elsewhere (e.g. China, Japan) - i.e. in a lighter shade. If they have not yet claimed an Antarctic EEZ (e.g. New Zealand[4]), then we should not show one on their map. -- Avenue (talk) 00:35, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

This Australian Senate document shows their EEZ claim in a map on page 6. -- Avenue (talk) 00:56, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

The claims of countries which have claimed EEZs in Antartica are no different than EEZ claims of China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. It is pointed out that these are only claims and not actually controlled EEZs. Bambuway (talk) 03:59, 2 March 2010 (UTC)