| Overview | Data Sources | Links | References |
| Territorial Sea | • | Baseline | • | Nautical Limits | • | Conservation Box | • | Fisheries Statistics | • | Law of the Sea |
The Territorial sea is that sea area adjacent to the shores of a coastal State, over which the State has jurisdiction, subject only to a right of innocent passage, which may be exercised by all vessels. The maximum limit of the Territorial Sea is 12 nautical miles in the Republic of Ireland and in the United Kingdom.
The Baseline
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| Irish Naval Service Vessels |
In the case of States having an indented coastline or fringe islands, such as Ireland, a straight baseline can be adopted. This involves joining points along the coast by a series of line-segments, which must not depart to any appreciable extent from the general direction of the coast.
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Concerns with the Baseline
A number of concerns regarding the definition of the straight baseline terminal points have been raised. Delaney (1997) draws attention to the fact that no datum was specified in the definition of the points. The main implication of this is that geographic positions expressed in two different datums can be considerably different and therefore any limits expressed in relation to these points will also have a positional uncertainty associated with them. This can compromise the State’s ability to exercise its jurisdictional rights.
Another issue raised by Delaney was that some of the baseline points may not coincide with the low water line, as is required by International law, therefore the accuracy of the territorial and other limits may be compromised.
Symmons (2000) gives a thorough and complete account to the setting up of Ireland’s straight baseline and how it has worked in practise. He also mentions that a weakness in the Irish claim is that the straight baseline defined for much of the south coast of Ireland may infringe international law “as the geographical requirements of the coast (viz. being deeply-indented and cut into or with a fringe of islands in the immediate vicinity) are not satisfied”.
The Marine Law and Ocean Policy Centre at NUI, Galway is undertaking a research project to evaluate the baseline and the potential continental shelf limits from a legal and technical perspective.
Nautical Limits
The Twelve Mile Limit
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| The Air Corps fleet of helicopters and airplanes act in support of the Naval Service. |
The territorial waters of the United Kingdom were defined as extending 3 nautical miles in the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act of 1878 but in the Territorial Seas Act of 1987, this was extended to 12 nautical miles.
The Six Mile Limit
The six nautical mile limit pertains to fisheries and it gives exclusive rights to Irish registered fishing vessels to fish in those waters. Between six and twelve miles some fishing vessels, flying the flags of the U.K., France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, have historical fishing rights.
The 200 Mile Fisheries Zone
An Exclusive Fisheries Zone (EFZ), corresponding to the limit of the territorial seas, was declared as part of the Maritime Jurisdiction (MJ) Act of 1959. This was subsequently extended to 12 nautical miles by the passing in 1964 of an amendment to the 1959 MJ Act.
A 200 mile Exclusive Fisheries Zone came into operation in January 1977 by Government order. The order sets out the terminal points defining the extent of this zone. In the case of proximity to another State, where the order cannot be applied, the fisheries limit is defined as “the equitable equidistant line between the State and the other State”.
Fishing rights within this area for EU member States and non-member countries are set out in the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union. The Irish Naval Service, with backup from the Air Corps, is responsible for monitoring fishing activities within this area and this is directed from the Fisheries Monitoring Centre at the Naval Base in Haulbowline, Co. Cork.
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| As part of its brief to patrol and monitor fishing within Ireland's 200 nautical mile EFZ, fishing vessels are boarded and inspected. Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB), which are very fast and highly manoeuvrable, are used to come alongside vessels to be boarded. |
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Click here to view the 6 and 12 mile limits and the 200 mile EFZ around Ireland. |
Overlapping Fishery Zones (Grey Areas)
Within the Irish Sea there are three small areas of overlapping Irish and U.K. fishery limits and some unclaimed pockets (Symmonds, 2000). There are also overlapping areas to both the northwest and southwest of Ireland. This situation has arisen due to the different ways in which both Jurisdictions state their claims. As explained by Symmonds (2000), “In the 1977 Act Ireland implemented an ‘equitable equidistant’ line around its coasts in areas of overlap with neighbours, whereas by contrast the U.K. (in its Fishery Limits Act 1976) specified a simple ‘median line’ in such circumstances………. For the same reason……..even more significant overlaps occur over the whole length of the respective U.K. and Irish claimed 200-mile fishery limits in the Atlantic region, where the two national lines increasingly diverge in contrasting southwesterly and northwesterly directions”.
Irish Conservation Box
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Fisheries Statistics
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| Fishing vessels in Castletownbere, Co. Cork |
Much of the information collected at the national level is collated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) which coordinates and promotes marine research in the North Atlantic. This body is the prime source of advice on marine ecosystems to governments and regulatory bodies that manage the North Atlantic ocean and adjacent seas. Statistics on fish caught in this area have been routinely collated and published since 1903.
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The Law of the Sea Convention
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The Convention on the Law of the Sea sets out the range of limits to which coastal States can lay claim. For example, the maximum territorial limit allowed is set at 12 nautical miles. The Convention was reached by consensus and took into account existing practice in relation to jurisdictions.
Some of the other significant issues covered in the Convention include navigation; exclusive economic zones (EEZ); continental shelf jurisdiction; deep seabed mining; the exploitation regime; protection of the marine environment; scientific research and settlement of disputes.
According to Symmonds (2000) there has been very limited progress on implementing the treaty via transposition into Irish legislation.