Subject: Re: Mexico and USA Agree to Divide Unclaimed Area in Gulf of Mexico
Date: Dec 06, 2001 @ 09:31
Author: acroorca2002 ("acroorca2002" <orc@...>)
Prev    Post in Topic    Next [All Posts]
Prev    Post in Time    Next


the following from martins very illuminating message 1345 in january may be the source of my recently mentioned belief that there is a united nations registry of eez claims but he was evidently only talking about shelf claims here

moreover there clearly is an approval process after all at least for the shelf claims as he also says below

& now we perhaps also know where we may find at least some of the data we are looking for to complete our punctoscopy & clavoscopy & in fact our whole detailed map or model of everyones land

m



--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., "Martin Pratt" <m.a.pratt@d...> wrote:

> The agreement divided the continental shelf of both 'doughnut holes'

> in the Gulf of Mexico but the water column above the seabed in both

> areas remains part of the high seas (Mike's 'everyone's land').

>

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

> all coastal states are entitled to claim sovereign rights (that's

> sovereign rights, not sovereignty...) over the resources of the sea

> and seabed up to 200 nautical miles from their baselines. Where the

> physical continental margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles, states

> may also claim rights over the resources over the continental shelf

> (but not the water column) under a complicated formula up to a

> maximum of 350 nautical miles or 100 nautical miles beyond the 2,500

> metre isobath. In this context, Mexico and the USA would appear to be

> entitled to claim continental shelf rights and delimit a boundary

> between them in the doughnut holes.

>

> That said, there may be problems down the line associated with this

> agreement. In order to acquire rights over continental shelf beyond

> 200 miles, a state must have its claim approved by the United Nations

> Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf within ten years of

> the entry into force of the Convention on the Law of the Sea for that

> state. For Mexico, that means 2004. In theory, if Mexico does not

> submit technical evidence to support its claim to the Commission in

> the next three years, rights to its claimed share of the doughnut

> hole seabed resources would fall to the International Seabed

> Authority on behalf of the international community as a whole. In

> practice, the deadline for submission of such claims is likely to be

> extended, although no date has yet been set. The USA has still to

> ratify UNCLOS, which raises a whole raft of other legal issues which

> I won't bore you with now.

>

> I hope that helps, although like most things legal, it has probably

> raised as many questions as it has answered!

>

> m a r t i n

>

>

> --- In BoundaryPoint@e..., "mick donner" <m@d...> wrote:

> > interesting

> >

> > also was it my imagination or arent there really 2 donut holes out

> > there & are these the same or different from the 2 omnisovereign

> > holes of human heritage area previously indicated in the gulf of

> > mexico also

> >

> > at least i sure hope that the usa & mexico are not simply

> > appropriating & divvying up our most local units of everyones

> > land

> >

> > that would leave our golf course a hole or 2 short

> > & set an ominous precedent for the rest

> >

> > lets hope i am mistaken

> >

> > can anyone say

> >

> > m