An exclusive economic zone, usually abbreviated as EEZ, is a maritime zone established under international law in which a coastal state has specific sovereign rights and jurisdiction over natural resources and certain economic activities. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an EEZ may extend up to 200 nautical miles from the applicable baselines, subject to the rules governing overlapping claims and maritime delimitation.
The EEZ is not the same as territorial waters and does not give the coastal state complete sovereignty over the entire zone. Instead, the coastal state has sovereign rights for purposes such as exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources in the waters above the seabed and in the seabed and subsoil, together with jurisdiction over specified activities such as artificial islands, marine scientific research and protection of the marine environment. Other states retain important freedoms, including navigation and overflight, subject to the applicable law.
The EEZ was developed as part of the modern law of the sea, particularly through the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and the adoption of UNCLOS in 1982. The concept responded to coastal states increasing interest in controlling offshore fisheries and natural resources while preserving international freedoms of navigation. Before the modern regime developed, maritime jurisdiction was generally much narrower and centred primarily on the territorial sea.
Advances in fishing technology, offshore drilling and marine resource exploitation increased the importance of defining coastal states economic rights beyond the territorial sea. The EEZ represented a compromise between coastal resource jurisdiction and the interests of the wider international community in navigation and other lawful uses of the oceans. UNCLOS entered into force in 1994, and its EEZ framework is now a central component of contemporary international maritime law.
The 200 nautical mile figure is measured from the applicable baseline, not simply from the visible shoreline in every circumstance. Baselines can be determined under detailed international law rules, including normal baselines along the coast and special arrangements for certain geographical configurations. Where the coasts of neighbouring or opposite states are close enough that their potential EEZs overlap, neither state can simply claim the full 200 nautical mile distance in the overlapping area.
The states must determine the boundary through agreement or, where applicable, a legally established delimitation process. This means that an EEZ is a maximum potential entitlement rather than a guarantee that every coastal state possesses a full 200 nautical mile zone in every direction. Geography, islands and existing maritime boundaries can substantially affect the actual area.
The resource rights of a coastal state within an EEZ are extensive but specific. The coastal state has sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage living and non living natural resources in the water column and seabed, including fish and offshore petroleum resources. It also has rights concerning other economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as energy production from water, currents and winds. These rights are different from ownership of the entire sea area.
Other states retain navigation and overflight freedoms and certain other internationally lawful uses. A foreign vessel does not become subject to all the domestic laws that would apply on land merely because it enters an EEZ. The distinction between sovereign rights over resources and full territorial sovereignty is one of the most important characteristics of the EEZ.
The coastal state also has jurisdiction over certain artificial installations and structures, marine scientific research and protection and preservation of the marine environment within the EEZ, subject to the detailed rules of international law. Offshore wind farms, drilling platforms, research installations and certain other structures can therefore fall within the coastal states regulatory jurisdiction. The coastal state can establish safety zones around installations where international law permits.
Marine scientific research by foreign states generally requires the coastal states consent within its EEZ and continental shelf, subject to the UNCLOS framework. Environmental responsibilities also matter because the EEZ is a zone of economic rights combined with duties concerning conservation and marine environmental protection. The legal regime therefore balances exploitation with resource management and environmental obligations.
Fisheries are one of the most important practical applications of EEZ law. A coastal state has rights to manage living resources within its EEZ and can regulate fishing by foreign vessels. It may determine allowable catches and, under the relevant UNCLOS provisions, should promote optimum utilisation where it does not have the capacity to harvest the entire allowable catch, subject to the applicable legal conditions. Highly migratory species and shared or transboundary stocks can require international cooperation.
Fish do not remain within political boundaries, so sustainable management often requires coordination between neighbouring states and regional fisheries organisations. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing can create enforcement challenges. EEZs therefore connect international law with practical questions of marine conservation, food security, fishing economies and maritime enforcement.
The EEZ should be distinguished from the territorial sea, contiguous zone, continental shelf and high seas. The territorial sea can extend up to 12 nautical miles and is subject to coastal state sovereignty, subject to important rules including innocent passage. The contiguous zone can extend up to 24 nautical miles from the baseline and concerns specific enforcement powers. The EEZ can extend up to 200 nautical miles and concerns economic rights and specified jurisdiction.
The continental shelf concerns seabed and subsoil rights and can extend beyond 200 nautical miles where the legal conditions for an extended continental shelf are satisfied. High seas are areas beyond national maritime zones where no state exercises sovereignty, although international law continues to regulate activities there. These zones overlap geographically in some cases but provide different legal rights.
The EEZ is therefore a carefully defined compromise between national and international interests at sea. It can extend up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline, but the actual boundary may be shorter because of neighbouring states, islands or other geographical circumstances. The coastal state receives important rights over natural resources and specified jurisdiction without acquiring complete sovereignty over the entire water column. Foreign states retain navigation, overflight and other lawful freedoms.
The regime is important for fisheries, offshore energy, seabed resources, marine research, environmental management and maritime governance. Understanding the EEZ requires distinguishing resource rights from sovereignty and recognising that the legal status of the water column, seabed and subsoil can differ. It is one of the central mechanisms through which modern international law balances coastal state interests with the shared character of the oceans.
