Legal Definitions - EEZ

EEZ stands for Exclusive Economic Zone.

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area of the sea over which a sovereign state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. It typically extends from the baseline of the coastal state out to 200 nautical miles (approximately 370 kilometers) from its shore. Within this zone, the coastal state has sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing all natural resources, both living (like fish) and non-living (like oil and gas), found in the waters, on the seabed, and in the subsoil beneath the seabed. While other states retain freedoms of navigation and overflight, and the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines, they cannot exploit the resources within another nation's EEZ without explicit permission from the coastal state.

• Example 1: Fishing Rights in the Pacific

  Consider the island nation of Fiji, located in the South Pacific. Fiji's EEZ extends 200 nautical miles around its many islands. This means that Fijian fishing fleets have the primary and exclusive right to harvest tuna, snapper, and other marine life within this vast oceanic area. If a large commercial fishing vessel from a distant country, such as China or the United States, wished to fish for profit within Fiji's EEZ, it would be legally required to obtain a specific license or enter into a fishing agreement with the Fijian government. This illustrates Fiji's exclusive right to exploit living resources within its designated zone.

• Example 2: Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico

  The United States has an extensive EEZ in the Gulf of Mexico. This zone grants the U.S. government the sole authority to regulate and permit companies to explore for and extract oil and natural gas from the seabed and subsoil within that 200-nautical-mile boundary. If a Mexican energy company wanted to drill for oil in a promising area that falls within the U.S. EEZ, even if it's close to the maritime border, they would need to secure a lease and permission from the U.S. government. This demonstrates the exclusive right to exploit non-living resources.

• Example 3: Renewable Energy Development in the North Sea

  Denmark, a nation with a significant coastline along the North Sea, possesses an EEZ that allows it to develop offshore renewable energy projects. Within its EEZ, Denmark has the exclusive right to construct and operate large-scale wind farms to generate electricity. No other country or private entity can unilaterally build such energy installations within Denmark's EEZ without the Danish government's explicit consent. This highlights the coastal state's right to utilize its EEZ for energy production from water and wind.