The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles Rights and Responsibilities

Under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, States have sovereign rights over the resources of their continental shelf out to 200 nautical miles from the coast. Where the physical shelf extends beyond 200 nautical miles, States may exercise rights over those resources to the outer limits of the continental shelf. More than 80 States may be entitled to claim sovereign rights over their continental shelf where it extends beyond 200 nautical miles from their coast, and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf is currently examining many of these claims. This book examines the nature of the rights and obligations of coastal States in this area, with a particular focus on the options for regulating activities on the extended continental shelf. Because the extended continental shelf lies below the high seas, the area poses unique legal challenges for coastal States that are different from those faced in respect of the shelf within 200 nautical miles. In addition, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea imposes some specific obligations that coastal States must comply with in respect of the extended continental shelf. The book discusses the development of the concept of the extended continental shelf. It explores a range of issues facing the coastal State in regulating matters such as environmental protection, fishing, bioprospecting, exploitation of non-living resources and marine scientific research on the extended continental shelf. The book proposes a framework for navigating the intersection between the high seas and the extended continental shelf and minimising the potential for conflict between flag and coastal States.

Joanna Mossop is Associate Professor in law at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her research interests include the law of the sea, Antarctica and international environmental law. Joanna Mossop is the author of a number of publications exploring aspects of the legal regime applicable to the extended continental shelf. Other publications have focused on maritime security and whaling in the Southern Ocean. She is a past Vice President of the Australia New Zealand Society of International Law and is a member of the editorial board of several journals including the New Zealand Yearbook of International Law, the New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law, the Australian Journal of Marine and Ocean Affairs and the Asia Pacific Journal of Ocean Law and Policy.