agreement about the breadth of the territorial sea. 

 Furthermore, one way or another, coastal States, 

 including the United States, claim exclusive access 

 to the living resources of the sea up to 12 miles 

 and more from the baselines from v/hich the 

 breadth of the territorial sea is measured.' ' 



C. Continental Shelf 



The Convention on the Continental Shelf, 

 which is of prime importance to this section of the 

 report, recognizes the claim of the coastal State to 

 exercise "sovereign rights" over the continental 

 shelf "for the purpose of exploring it and exploit- 

 ing its natural resources."'* These rights are 

 declared to be "exclusive" in the sense that "if the 

 coastal State does not explore the continental 

 shelf or exploit its natural resources, no one may 

 undertake these activities, or make a claim to the 

 continental shelf, without the express consent of 

 the coastal State."'' Accordingly, the coastal 

 State's rights "do not depend on occupation. 



'"'Pub. L. 89-658, 80 Stat. 908 (1966), 16 U.S.C. 

 §§1091-194 (Supp. II, 1967). Section I of this statute 

 states that the United States "wiU exercise the same 

 exclusive rights in respect of fisheries in the nine-mUe 

 zone [beyond the outer limits of the territorial sea) as it 

 has in its territorial sea, subject to the continuation of 

 traditional fishing by foreign states within this zone as 

 may be recognized by the United States." In this way, the 

 Act of May 20, 1964, note 13 supra, is made applicable to 

 the nine-mUe zone as well as to the territorial sea. 



Canada, apparently, is the only country that qualifies 

 for traditional fishing rights. See H. Rep. 2086, 89th 

 Cong., 2d Sess., Sept. 26, 1966, 2 U.S. Code & Adm. 

 News 3289 (1966). 



Section III authorizes the President, whenever he 

 "determines that a portion of the tisheries zone 

 conflicts with the territorial waters or fisheries zone of 

 another country," to "estabUsh a seaward boundary for 

 such portion of the zone in substitution for the seaward 

 boundary described in Section II." The seaward boundary 

 described in Section II is "a Une drawn so that each point 

 on the Une is nine nauticail miles from the nearest point" 

 on the outer limits of the territorial sea. 



As of Jan. 1, 1968, there were 123 nations in the 

 United Nations; 103 are coastal States, 20 have no coasts. 

 A total of 59 countries had 12-niile exclusive fishing 

 zones, either as territorial sea or as territorial sea of less 

 than 12 miles plus a contiguous zone of exclusive fishery 

 jurisdiction which made a total of 12 miles. See Marine 

 Science Affairs (1968), Table E-4, at 197-200. 



'* Convention on the Continental Shelf, adopted by the 

 United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, April 

 29, 1958, Art. 2(1). The Convention became effective in 

 1964. 15 U.S.T. 471, T.I.A.S. No. 5578, U.N. Doc. 

 A/CONF. 13/L. 55 (1958). 



The Convention on the Continental Shelf codified 

 customary international law given impetus by the Truman 

 Proclamation of 1945. Presidential Proclamation No. 

 2667, Sept. 28, 1945, Policy of the United States with 

 Respect to the Natural Resources of the Subsoil and 

 Seabed of the Continental Shelf, 10 Fed. Reg. 12303 

 (1945). 



19 



Id., Art. 2(2). 



effective or notional, or on any express 

 proclamation."^" 



The Convention defines the "continental shelf 

 as "the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas 

 adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the 

 territorial sea, to a depth of 200 metres (656 feet) 

 or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the 

 superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of 

 the natural resources of the said areas;" or "the 

 seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas 

 adjacent to the coasts of islands."^ ' The conven- 

 tion also provides, however, that none of its 



^°W., Art. 2(3). 



^'/d.. Art. 1. It should be noted that the term 

 "continental shelf is not confined to its geological 

 meaning, but is given a special, legal meaning. The 

 geological meanings of this term and of others that wiU 

 shortly become significant for our purposes, which were 

 available to the diplomats, lawyers and other specialists 

 gathered at Geneva in 1958, are those adopted by the 

 International Committee on the Nomenclature of Ocean 

 Bottom Features. They are to be found in 1 Yearbook of 

 the International Law Commission, 1956, at 131. (See 

 also, GuUcher et al.. Scientific Considerations Relating to 

 the Continental Shelf, UNESCO, Conference on the Law 

 of the Sea, 13/2, 1957 (mimeo)). These geological 

 meanings follow: 



1. Continental Shelf, Shelf Edge and Borderland 



The zone around the continent, extending from 

 the low water line to the depth at which there is a 

 marked increase of slope to a greater depth. Where this 

 increase occurs, the term "shelf edge" is appropriate. 

 Conventionally, the edge is taken at 100 fathoms (or 

 200 meters), but instances are known where the 

 increase of slope occurs at more than 200 or less than 

 65 fathoms. When the zone below the low water line is 

 highly irregular, and includes depths well in excess of 

 those typical of continental shelves, the term "conti- 

 nental borderland" is appropriate. 



2. Continental Slope 



The declivity from the outer edge of the conti- 

 nental shelf or continental borderland into greater 

 depths. 



3. Borderland Slope 



The declivity which marks the mner margin of the 

 continental borderland. 



4. Continental Terrace 



The zone around the continents, extending from 

 low water line to the base of the continental slope. 



The Continental Rise. This term was not used by 

 the International Committee on Nomenclature, but we 

 shall have occasion to use it. The "continental slope" 

 is bounded on its seaward side by the continental rise, 

 a vast apron of debris from the continent and of 

 calcareous skeletal material from near the sea surface. 

 The apron shape reflects the landward source of most 

 of the sediment (brought by turbidity currents and 

 suspended sediment) and its movement and redeposi- 

 tion by bottom currents that appear to flow parallel to 

 the contours. 



The boundary between the continental slope and 

 the continental rise is not everywhere clearly marked, 

 owing to inadequate soundings and to the fact that 

 sediments of the continental rise overlap the conti- 

 nental slope and can eventually bury it. 

 Emery, Geological Aspects of Sea-Floor Sovereignty, in 

 The Law of the Sea 150 (Alexander ed. 1967). 



VIII-13 



