Global EEZ layer are the layers gathered from gazetted datasets that the Pacific Community (SPC) has received from the project countries. In areas where there are no gazetted datasets provisional layers are being sourced from the Global Marine Regions database (https://www.marineregions.org/).

There are two layers available, the .shp file layer and the .kml layer which are being used by partners and member states in particular FFA for the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Center (RFSC).

In June 2000 the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) under the auspices of the Department of Public Enterprise (later moved to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in 2002) awarded a contract to Global Ocean Technologies Limited (GOTECH) to undertake the Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS), Zone 3 Hydrographic Survey. This area, of some 413,760 square Kilometres, stretches from the 200 metre water depth line on the Western Seaboard of Ireland, westward into the full oceanic depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The INSS mapped to approximately the 200m contour. The project was completed in 2006.The INFOMAR programme is a joint venture between Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) and Marine Institute (MI) and is the successor to the Irish National Seabed Survey. INFOMAR aims to survey the remaining shelf and coastal waters between 2006 to 2026.It is a vector dataset. Vector data portrays the world using points, lines and polygons (areas). The zone data is shown as polygons. Each polygon holds information on the zone number, zone part, area (km2) and perimeter (m).The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. Articles 3 and 4 of UNCLOS sets out what a territorial sea is and what is permitted. Territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, although foreign ships (military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it, or transit passage for straits; this sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below. Adjustment of these boundaries is called, in international law, maritime delimitation.A state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nm (22 km; 14 mi) from its baseline. A nautical mile is 1,852 metres. If this would overlap with another state's territorial sea, the border is taken as the median point between the states' baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also choose to claim a smaller territorial sea.It is a vector dataset. Vector data portrays the world using points, lines and polygons (areas). The data is shown as a line.The exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime established in this Part, under which the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the rights and freedoms of other States are governed by the relevant provisions of this Convention. An exclusive economic zone, as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.It stretches from the outer limit of the territorial sea (22.224 Km or 12 NM from the baseline) out to a maximum of 370.4 Km (or 200 nautical miles) from the coast of the state in question. It is also referred to as a maritime continental margin and, in colloquial usage, may include the continental shelf. The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit. 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. The surface waters are international waters.It is a vector dataset. Vector data portrays the world using points, lines and polygons (areas). The data is shown as a line.The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. Article 76 of UNCLOS sets out the definition of what the continental shelf is and what is permitted. The Geoscience Regulatory Office (GSRO) (formerly Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD)) a division of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has statutory responsibility for Ireland’s Continental Shelf.A state wishing to extend its shelf beyond 200 nautical miles must make a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Ireland’s continental shelf physically extends beyond 200 nautical miles to the west and south of the country and, working together, the Departments of Foreign Affairs and of the Environment, Climate and Communications have in all made three submissions to the Commission – in 2005 in relation to the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, then jointly with France, Spain and the UK for the seabed of the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay, and finally for the Hatton Rockall area of the North East Atlantic in 2009.The submission concerning the Porcupine Abyssal Plain successfully resulted in the addition of 39,000 km² of seabed to the State’s continental shelf. The Commission has also made recommendations that would enclose an area of approx. 80,000 km² of seabed in the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay and the division of this area is currently under negotiation between the four countries concerned. In addition, regular discussions have taken place for a number of years between Ireland and the UK (who agreed continental shelf boundaries in 1988), Iceland and the Faroe Islands in relation to overlapping claims in the North East Atlantic.It is a vector dataset. Vector data portrays the world using points, lines and polygons (areas). The data is shown as a line.

An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a sovereign state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. This maritime boundary is designed to be used with other marine boundaries in order to help determine areas of trade, commerce and transportation. The 200 NM zone is measured, country-by-country, from another maritime boundary, the baseline (usually but not in all cases the mean low-water mark, used is not the same thing as the coast line. For each country, obtain the official list of the baseline points from the United Nations under Maritime Space.The exclusive economic zone stretches much further into sea than the territorial waters, which end at 12 NM (22 km) from the coastal baseline (if following the rules set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea). Thus, the EEZ includes the contiguous zone. States also have rights to the seabed of what is called the continental shelf up to 350 NM (648 km) from the coastal baseline, beyond the EEZ, but such areas are not part of their EEZ. The legal definition of the continental shelf does not directly correspond to the geological meaning of the term, as it also includes the continental rise and slope, and the entire seabed within the EEZ. The chart below diagrams the overlapping jurisdictions which are part of the EEZ. When the (EEZ) boundary is between countries which are separated by less than 200NM is settled by international tribunals at any arbitrary line. Many countries are still in the process of extending their EEZs beyond 200NM using criteria defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Dataset Summary The data for this layer were obtained from https://www.marineregions.org/published here. Link to source metadata.Preferred Citation: Flanders Marine Institute (2023). Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones (200NM), version 12. Available online at https://www.marineregions.org/. https://doi.org/10.14284/632This layer is a feature service, which means it can be used for visualization and analysis throughout the ArcGIS Platform. This layer is not editable.

The US territorial sea is a maritime zone, over which the United States exercises sovereignty. Each coastal State claims a territorial sea that extends seaward up to 12 nautical miles from its coastal baseline. As defined by maritime law, the coastal State exercises sovereignty over its territorial sea, the air space above it, and the seabed and subsoil beneath it. The U.S. territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles from the coastal baseline. The zone is usually used in concert with several other Limits and Boundary Lines for Maritime purposes.Maritime limits for the United States are measured from the US baseline, which is recognized as the low-water line along the coast as marked on NOAA's nautical charts. The baseline and related maritime limits are reviewed and approved by the interagency US Baseline Committee. The Office of Coast Survey depicts on its nautical charts the territorial sea (12nm), contiguous zone (24nm), and exclusive economic zone (200nm, plus maritime boundaries with adjacent/opposite countries. US maritime limits are ambulatory and subject to revision based on accretion or erosion of the charted low water line. Dataset SummaryThis map service contains data from NOAA and BOEM sources that address USA Regional coastal areas and are designed to be used together within an ArcGIS.com web map. These include: World Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from NOAA Office of Coast SurveyContiguous Zone (CZ) from NOAA Office of Coast SurveyTerritorial Sea (TS) Boundary from NOAA Office of Coast SurveyRevenue Sharing Boundary [Section 8(g) of OCSLA Zone Boundary] from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)Submerged Land Act Boundaries (SLA) aka State Seaward Boundary (SSB)State Administrative Boundary from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)Continental Shelf Boundary (CSB) from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)Regional Maritime Planning Area Boundaries from NOAA Office of Coast SurveyInternational Provisional Maritime Boundary from NOAA (International Boundary Commission)The data for this layer were obtained from MarineCadastre.gov and is updated regularly.More information about U.S. Maritime Limits and BoundariesLink to source metadataWhat can you do with this layer?The features in this layer are used for areas and limits of coastal planning areas, or offshore planning areas, applied within ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Online. A depiction of the territorial sea boundaries helps disputing parties reach an agreement as in the case of one state's boundary overlapping with another state's territorial sea, in which case the border is taken as the median point between the states' baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also choose to claim a smaller territorial sea.Conflicts still occur whenever a coastal nation claims an entire gulf as its territorial waters while other nations only recognize the more restrictive definitions of the UN convention. Two recent conflicts occurred in the Gulf of Sidra where Libya has claimed the entire gulf as its territorial waters and the US has twice enforced freedom of navigation rights, in the 1981 and 1989 Gulf of Sidra incidents.This layer is a feature service, which means it can be used for visualization and analysis throughout the ArcGIS Platform. This layer is not editable.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. Articles 3 and 4 of UNCLOS sets out what a territorial sea is and what is permitted. Territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, although foreign ships (military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it, or transit passage for straits; this sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below. Adjustment of these boundaries is called, in international law, maritime delimitation.A state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nm (22 km; 14 mi) from its baseline. A nautical mile is 1,852 metres. If this would overlap with another state's territorial sea, the border is taken as the median point between the states' baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also choose to claim a smaller territorial sea.It is a vector dataset. Vector data portrays the world using points, lines and polygons (areas). The data is shown as a line.