Boundary Delimitation in the Economic Zone: The Gulf of Maine Dispute

In an ideal world of abundant natural resources, homogeneously distributed among nations, the issue of marine boundary delimitation would have little significance within the international community. However, the realities of randomly concentrated and limited resources, complicated by the political geography of the oceans, have made maritime boundary delimitation a crucial international issue. In a world of more than 130 coastal nations, the determination of standards for allocation of living and non-living ocean resources within the fertile offshore areas has become an issue of widespread economic importance. Nonetheless, the international community has developed few concrete and specific rules for marine boundary delimitation within the various marine zones historically claimed by coastal nations. The advent of the 200-mile economic zone concept has further intensified the need for an approach to boundary delimitation problems capable of accommodating both environmental realities and political expectations. Marine boundary delimitation falls into three broad classifications. First is the drawing of baselines along a coast that will close off a coastal nation's internal waters and serve as the starting point for measurement of the various offshore zones. The second step in boundary delimitation involves fixing the seaward limit of the various marine zones of national jurisdiction. The marine zones commonly claimed by coastal nations include: territorial sea; contiguous zone; continental shelf; and, more recently, the exclusive economic zone. The third category of marine boundaries includes the international maritime boundaries between adjacent and opposite states. This Comment, focusing on the delimitation of international boundaries in the economic zone, will proceed through three analytical stages. First, the legal history of boundary delimitation in other marine zones will be reviewed in an effort to find solutions which may be of use within the economic zone. The following section will analyze current proposals for economic zone boundary delimitation at the ongoing Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS I1]. These proposals will be discussed in the light of prior experience with other marine zones and the problems likely to be encountered in practical application. Finally, an assessment of the current economic zone boundary dispute between the United States and Canada in the Gulf of Maine will be undertaken. The unique environmental factors pertinent to this dispute will receive significant attention as two possible solutions are analyzed: the proposed Canada-United States bilateral settlement and, in the event bilateral negotiations should fail, judicial settlement by the International Court of Justice or the Permanent Court of Arbitration.