Marine Belt

Summary of Marine Belt

Coastal waters subject to the municipal jurisdiction of the states which they border. By custom and tradition, a nation enjoys dominion over the sea to a distance of three nautical miles from the shore. This rule has been modified by various conventions and unilateral actions by some states to expand their jurisdiction over coastal waters to much greater distances. For example, the United States exerts “customs jurisdiction”up to twelve miles from the shore, and many states claim authority up to two hundred miles from shore or to the edge of the continental shelf as exclusive preserves for fishing, mining, or oil drilling. A careful distinction should be made, in American usage, between “marine belt”and “maritime belt.”In most other countries, the two terms would be interchangeable. However, inasmuch as the United States is a confederation of states, the latter term is used to describe the authority of coastal states of the U. S. over their coastal waters, as distinguished from the broader jurisdiction of the federal government over maritime affairs.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)