What Is The Difference Between EEZ And Continental Shelf?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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The continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are

distinct maritime zones

. The continental shelf includes only the seabed and subsoil; whereas the EEZ includes the water column. … The ECS is, therefore, not an extension of the EEZ.

What is continental shelf in maritime Law?

A continental shelf is a term that refers

to the ledges that protrude from the continental land mass into the ocean

. This is enveloped with a comparatively shallow zone of water (approximately 150-200 meters deep). This eventually mixes into the depths of the ocean which is around thousands of meters deep.

What is the difference between territorial waters and exclusive economic zone?

The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone is that

the first confers full sovereignty over the waters

, whereas the second is merely a “sovereign right” which refers to the coastal state’s rights below the surface of the sea.

What does EEZ mean?

An

Exclusive Economic Zone

(EEZ) is a concept adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1982), whereby a coastal State assumes jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of marine resources in its adjacent section of the continental shelf, taken to be a band extending 200 miles from …

What is the continental shelf between?

The term “continental shelf” is used by geologists generally to mean that part of the continental margin which is

between the shoreline and the shelf break

or, where there is no noticeable slope, between the shoreline and the point where the depth of the superjacent water is approximately between 100 and 200 metres.

Who decides EEZ?

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a zone in the sea prescribed by

the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

over which a country has certain rights.

How many miles is our exclusive economic zone?

The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends

no more than 200 nautical miles

from the territorial sea baseline and is adjacent to the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the U.S., including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands …

What are the three types of continental shelves?

The shelf area is commonly subdivided into the

inner continental shelf, mid continental shelf, and outer continental shelf

, each with their specific geomorphology and marine biology.

What are the limits of continental shelf?

The continental shelf may

not extend beyond 350 nautical miles (648 km)

or, alternatively, more than 100 nautical miles (185 km) beyond the point at which the seabed lies at a depth of 2 500 metres. The latter alternative only applies to submarine elevations that are natural components of the continental margin.

Which is the largest continental shelf?

Exceptionally broad shelves occur off northern Australia and Argentina. The world’s largest continental shelf extends

1,500 km (about 930 miles) from the coast of Siberia into the Arctic Ocean

. Continental shelves are usually covered with a layer of sand, silts, and silty muds.

What is the purpose of EEZ?

The EEZ, short for the Exclusive Economic zone, is

a boundary that allows countries to regulate the natural resources in the waters within their “boundaries” for fishing and non-fishing industries

.

What happens when EEZ overlap?

The other interesting thing to look at is what happens when EEZ overlap. In these

cases the border has to be split (usually down the middle)

. That means bodies of water such as the Mediterranean, North Sea, and Caribbean Sea are completely full. … Law of Sea & Exclusive Economic Zone.

Is the EEZ part of the high seas?

EEZs of States worldwide constitute 38% of the oceans of earth that

were considered part of the high seas prior to adoption

of the LOSC. The EEZ is the most misunderstood of all the maritime zones by policymakers in States around the world.

What are the similarities and differences between EEZ and continental shelf?

The continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are

distinct maritime zones

. The continental shelf includes only the seabed and subsoil; whereas the EEZ includes the water column.

What is called continental slope?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Continental slope – The slope is “

the deepening sea floor out from the shelf edge to the upper limit of the continental rise, or the point where there is a general decrease in steepness

” (IHO, 2008).

What is continental shelf as per unclos?

The continental shelf can be defined as

the area whose outer limit shall not exceed 350 nautical miles from the baseline or shall not exceed 100 nautical miles from the 2500 meters isobath

. The coastal state has exclusive rights for exploring and exploiting its natural resources in this area.

David Evans
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David Evans
David is a seasoned automotive enthusiast. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and has a passion for all things related to cars and vehicles. With his extensive knowledge of cars and other vehicles, David is an authority in the industry.