Exclusive economic zone of the United Kingdom

The exclusive economic zones of the United Kingdom in blue, including the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. The British claim in Antarctica is shown in shaded blue.[1]

The United Kingdom's exclusive economic zone is the fifth largest in the world at 6,805,586 km2 (2,627,651 sq mi).[2] It comprises the exclusive economic zones surrounding the United Kingdom,[3] the Crown Dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. The figure does not include the EEZ of the British Antarctic Territory.

The UK was late to establish an EEZ, relying on overlapping maritime zones for fisheries, pollution control, and energy matters. The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 gave the powers to establish an EEZ, with the zone defined by the Exclusive Economic Zone Order 2013 which came into force on 31 March 2014.[4][5]

The United Kingdom has not claimed an EEZ extending from Gibraltar or Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

  1. ^ 10 Downing Street. "Countries within a country". Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference searoundus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Exclusive Economic Zone Order 2013" http://www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  4. ^ Gibson, J. (January 2009). "The United Kingdom's elusive exclusive economic zone". Journal of Water Law. 20 (4). Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  5. ^ "The Exclusive Economic Zone Order 2013". legislation.gov.uk. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2018.