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Oceanography & Marine Resources25 Essential Exam Concepts

What Is an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)? GK Facts, Overview & Study Guide

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an oceanic maritime zone prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) over which a sovereign coastal state exercises special sovereign rights regarding the exploration, exploitation, conservation, and management of marine resources. Codified under Part V (Articles 55 to 75) of UNCLOS, the EEZ extends seaward up to a maximum breadth of 200 nautical miles (approximately 370.4 kilometers) measured from the baseline from which the territorial sea is calculated. It represents a vital legal compromise between the traditional doctrine of open high seas and coastal state demands for resource sovereignty.

Within its Exclusive Economic Zone, a coastal state does not hold full territorial sovereignty, which ends at the outer boundary of its 12-nautical-mile territorial sea. Instead, the coastal state exercises functional sovereign rights over all natural resources found in the water column, the seabed, and the subsoil. These rights encompass commercial marine fisheries, offshore petroleum, natural gas, seabed polymetallic nodules, and renewable energy production derived from ocean currents, tides, and winds. Additionally, the coastal state exercises jurisdiction over the construction and authorization of artificial islands and installations, the authorization of marine scientific research, and the protection of the marine environment from pollution.

In balance with coastal state economic rights, all other states—whether coastal or landlocked—retain essential international maritime freedoms within another nation's EEZ. Under Article 58 of UNCLOS, foreign vessels and aircraft enjoy the freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as the freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines, subject to the relevant laws of the coastal state. India ratified UNCLOS in June 1995 and governs its maritime spaces under the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976. India's vast coastline and island territories grant the nation an EEZ exceeding 2.37 million square kilometers.

Essential Concepts & Key Facts

High-yield conceptual summaries for competitive exams and rapid revision.

  • The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is codified under Part V (Articles 55 to 75) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982.
  • An EEZ extends seaward up to a maximum distance of 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometers) measured from the official coastal baseline.
  • One international nautical mile equals exactly 1.852 kilometers (1,852 meters).
  • UNCLOS entered into formal international enforcement on November 16, 1994; India ratified the convention in June 1995.
  • In India, the statutory framework governing maritime spaces is the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (Act No. 80 of 1976).
  • Section 7 of the Indian Maritime Zones Act, 1976, formally defines the boundaries, sovereign rights, and regulatory powers in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
  • India’s Exclusive Economic Zone encompasses approximately 2.37 million square kilometers, bolstered significantly by the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago and Lakshadweep.
  • The coastal state exercises sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage living resources (fisheries) and non-living resources (oil, gas, minerals) in the water column, seabed, and subsoil.
  • The coastal state possesses sovereign rights to harness energy from ocean water, currents, tides, and marine offshore winds within its EEZ.
  • The coastal state possesses regulatory jurisdiction over the construction and operation of artificial islands, offshore rigs, and marine scientific research installations.
  • The coastal state has statutory authority to enact and enforce measures protecting and preserving the marine ecosystem from oceanic pollution.
  • Unlike the Territorial Sea, a coastal state does NOT possess absolute territorial sovereignty over its EEZ; it holds functional, resource-specific sovereign rights.
  • Under Article 58 of UNCLOS, all other sovereign states enjoy freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight through foreign EEZs.
  • Foreign states maintain the international freedom to lay submarine communication cables and petroleum pipelines through another state’s EEZ.
  • Territorial Waters extend up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline, over which the coastal state exercises full sovereign authority over air space, water, and seabed.
  • The Contiguous Zone extends up to 24 nautical miles from the baseline, where the state enforces customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary regulations.
  • The Continental Shelf comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas extending to 200 nautical miles, or up to 350 nautical miles where the natural geological shelf prolongation permits.
  • Waters lying beyond the 200-nautical-mile EEZ boundary are classified as High Seas, governed by the principle of common heritage of humanity (res communis).
  • Under Article 61 of UNCLOS, coastal states must determine the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for living resources to ensure marine populations are not endangered by overexploitation.
  • The United States possesses the largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, spanning over 11.3 million square kilometers across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans.
  • France holds the second-largest global EEZ (over 10.1 million square kilometers), largely due to its widespread overseas territories in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
  • The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) is the UNCLOS body responsible for evaluating coastal state submissions to extend seabed rights beyond 200 nautical miles.

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