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# What is the EEZ?

## The **exclusive economic zone** is the zone where the U.S. and other coastal nations have jurisdiction over natural resources 

This NOAA map shows the U.S. exclusive economic zone.  

The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends no more than 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline and is adjacent to the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the U.S., including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession over which the United States exercises sovereignty.  

Within the EEZ, the U.S.  has:

            - Sovereign rights for the purpose of      exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources, whether      living and nonliving, of the seabed and subsoil and the superjacent waters      and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and      exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water,      currents and winds;
            - Jurisdiction as provided for in      international and domestic laws with regard to the establishment and      use of artificial islands, installations, and structures, marine      scientific research, and the protection and preservation of the marine      environment; and
            - Other rights and duties provided for under international and domestic laws.

*Note*:  Under certain U.S. fisheries laws, such as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the term "exclusive economic zone" is defined as having an inner boundary that is coterminous with the seaward (or outer) boundary of each of the coastal states. While its *outer* limit is the same as the EEZ on NOAA charts, its *inner* limit is coterminous with the coastal states' boundary at 3 nautical miles, except for Texas, western Florida, and Puerto Rico, which claim a 9 nautical mile belt.

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###### More **Information**

          - Office of Coast Survey 
          - Download EEZ Limits
          - Presidential Proclamation No. 5030 of March 10, 1983 
          - Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 163, August 23, 1995, "Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries: Notice of Limits"

**Last updated:**   01/20/23**Author:** NOAAHow to cite this article

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