Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
5.0 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.1 MARITIME BOUNDARIES: TERRITORIAL WATERS, CONTIGUOUS ZONE, AND EXCLUSIVE
ECONOMIC ZONE
Maritime boundaries are critical elements that affect the planning of activities in the marine environment
(GDAIS 2003). They delimit the extent of a nation's sovereignty, exclusive rights, jurisdiction, and control
over the ocean areas off its coast. Maritime boundaries may include a 12 NM territorial sea, an 18 to 24
NM contiguous zone, a 200 NM EEZ, and a nation’s continental shelf (Figure 5-1). Since maritime
boundaries are delimited, rather than demarcated, there is generally no physical evidence of the
boundary. As a result, there can often be confusion, disagreement, and conflicting versions of marine
boundaries between distinct nations and/or territories (NOAA 2002). Such is the case for Guam and the
CNMI, where disputes between the two territorial governments and the U.S. federal government have
been frequent.
Although the U.S. and other nations historically used 3 NM as their seaward territorial limit, some
American states (e.g., Texas and the Gulf Coast of Florida) and territories (e.g., Puerto Rico) have
historical seaward boundaries of 3 marine leagues or 9 NM. These territorial limits were measured from
the baseline of each nation or state. The U.S. has traditionally used the “rule of the tidemark” as the
baseline from which to measure the width of its territorial waters. This baseline coincides with the mean
lower low water/tide line found along the shore and is often termed the “normal” baseline (Kapoor and
Kerr 1986; Prescott 1987; Figure 5-1). At the mouths of bays, rivers, or other areas where the coastline is
not continuous, a straight baseline is drawn over the coastal feature. Rather than use the normal
baseline, an increasing number of countries use either the straight baseline or archipelagic baseline
system from which to measure their territorial waters (Kapoor and Kerr 1986; Prescott 1987).
The 3 NM limit was the standard until the latter half of the twentieth century when the extent of U.S.
territorial waters was redefined. In 1945, President Truman issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2667
(also known as the Truman Proclamation) claiming jurisdiction and control over all the natural resources
of the seabed and subsoil of the entire continental shelf adjacent to the coasts of the U.S. The Truman
Proclamation did not include jurisdiction or control over the waters overlying the U.S. continental shelf. In
1953, the Truman Proclamation was nullified and replaced by the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Act. The
OCS Act placed the subsoil and seabed of the OCS under U.S. jurisdiction. Section 1331 of this act
defines the OCS as “…all submerged lands lying seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath
navigable waters as defined in section 1301 of this title…” (DOALOS 2004). Like the Truman
Proclamation, the OCS Act did not give the U.S. authority over the waters above the continental shelf
seabed, thereby leaving them open to navigation and fishing (Table 5-1).
In 1976, the U.S. followed the trend established by the United Nations (U.N.) by drafting a piece of
legislation known as the FCMA. The FCMA established a 200 NM fishery conservation zone extending
outward from the U.S. baseline. This 200 NM zone was designed to protect and conserve the fisheries of
the U.S and its territories. With the official enactment of the FCMA in 1977, the U.S. formally claimed a
200 NM fishery conservation zone in which it exercised exclusive fishery management authority, except in
cases where a country was situated within 400 NM (Table 5-1). In the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, Cuba
and Mexico are located less than 400 NM away from the U.S. fishery conservation zone boundary.
Pending the establishment of permanent maritime boundaries by treaty or agreement with these nations,
the FCMA set forth fishery limits based on a median line drawn equidistantly between two nations where
a 200 NM limit is not possible (DoS 1977).
By the early 1980s, it was evident that the U.S. needed to control more than fisheries outside of its
territorial waters. In 1983, President Reagan recognized the necessity of protecting, controlling, and
developing the ocean area adjacent to the territorial waters of the U.S. by issuing Presidential
Proclamation No. 5030 (Table 5-1). This proclamation established an EEZ that extended 200 NM from
the U.S. baseline and included all areas adjoining the territorial waters of the U.S. and its territories,
except where another country is less than 400 NM from the U.S. The establishment of the EEZ gave the
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