Declared under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 in relation to Australia and its external territories in accordance with UNCLOS The EEZ comprises the area that extends from 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles seaward of the territorial sea baselines established under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, except where it has been pulled back to take account of maritime delimitations (or potential delimitations) with other countries Australia has sovereign rights under UNCLOS for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, and conserving and managing the natural resources, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the EEZ
An area, usually not exceeding 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, subject to specific legal regime under which the coastal state has certain rights and jurisdiction The baselines are usually low-water tidal datums
Exclusive economic zone, or 200-nautical-mile zone, where coastal states have sovereign rights over natural resources and certain economic activities according the Convention of the Law of the Sea promulgated by a UN conference in 1982
The EEZ refers to the rights of coastal states to control the living and nonliving resources of the sea for 200 miles off their coasts while allowing freedom of navigation to other states beyond 12 miles, as agreed at the sixth session of the Third U N Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) The EEZ also gives the coastal states the responsibility for managing the conservation of all natural resources within the 200-mile limit
A maritime zone seaward of the territorial sea with an outer boundary that may be up to 200 miles out from the territorial sea's baselines Within this, a coastal state may regulate: (1) nonliving resources, including the seabed, subsoil, and superjacent waters; (2) living resources, including fish, crustaceans, and plants; (3) other economic resources, such as the production of energy from the water, currents, and winds; (4) artificial islands, installations, and structures; (5) marine scientific research; and (6) pollution control
The Australian EEZ was established under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 on 1 August 1994 The EEZ around Australia (including the external territories) is that area between 12 and 200 nm seaward of the territorial sea baseline In some instances, the outer limit of the EEZ (that is, 200 nm from the baseline) is delineated to take account of maritime or potential maritime delimitations with other countries This is illustrated in Figure A1 and the diagrammatic map
Concept proposed at the UN Law of the Sea Conference whereby coastal states assume jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of marine resources
The EEZ is a zone 200 nautical miles beyond the boundaries of, and adjacent to, a nation-state's territorial waters, where it has jurisdiction, but not sovereignty This practice is formalized in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of a coastal state which shall not exceed beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines as defined under existing laws