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Archipelagic Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone Act, 1986 (Act No. 24).

Country/Territory
Trinidad and Tobago
Document type
Legislation
Date
1986
Source
FAO, FAOLEX
Original source
Trinidad and Tobago Gazette, Vol. 25, No. 311 of 1986, Supplement Part A, pp. 249-261.
Long title
An Act to declare the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago an archipelagic State, and to define the new areas of marine space appertaining to Trinidad and Tobago in the exclusive economic zone, and in the archipelagic waters, and the nature and extent of the jurisdiction to be exercised by it in each of these areas and to make provision for matters connected therewith in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done in Montego Bay, Jamaica on 10th December, 1982.
Subject
Fisheries, Sea
Keyword
Marine fisheries Total allowable catch Navigation Fishery management and conservation Access right Enforcement/compliance Offences/penalties Fishing authorization Foreign fishing Maritime zone EEZ-Exclusive Economic Zone Territorial sea Continental shelf Sovereignty
Geographical area
Americas, Caribbean, Latin America and the Caribbean, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN FAO, North Atlantic, Small Island Developing States
Abstract

This Act, inter alia, declares the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to be an Archipelagic State, defines various matters with respect to archipelagic waters (sects. 2-8) and provides for the establishment of an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles (sects. 14-24). Section 3 declares Trinidad and Tobago to be an Archipelagic State. The archipelagic waters of Trinidad and Tobago include any areas of the sea within archipelagic baselines which shall consist of straight baselines joining the outer points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archipelago (sects. 4 and 6). The breadth of the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf shall be measured form the archipelagic baselines (sect. 7). Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right to draw closing lines within the archipelagic waters for the delimitation of the internal waters as defined in the Territorial Sea Act (sect. 8). Section 9 deals with passage of foreign ships through the archipelagic waters of Trinidad and Tobago. Sections 25 and 26 provide some regulation of foreign fishing in the EEZ: Such fishing requires a licence which may be issued in respect to a foreign fishing vessel or to the master and members of the crew of the vessel. The remaining sections deal, inter alia, with enforcement (sects. 28-29), offences (sects. 30-31) and regulation making powers of the President (sect. 32).

Full text
English