What is the law of the sea?

Notable in the development of the law of the sea are a number of international
conventions signed in the latter half of the 20th century. The United Nations
(UN) held its first Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) in 1956,
which resulted in a 1958 Convention. The final conference, held in Montego
Bay, Jamaica, in 1982, resulted in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC).
The LOSC came into force in 1994 upon receiving the necessary number of UN
signatories.

While the United States ratified the 1958 Convention, as of late 2013, it had not
become a party to the 1982 Convention. The United States recognizes that the
1982 Convention reflects customary international law and complies with its
provisions.

NOAA's Role

NOAA is responsible for depicting on its nautical charts the limits of the 12
nautical mile Territorial Sea, 24 nautical mile Contiguous Zone, and 200
nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Each of these maritime zones is
projected from what is called a “normal baseline,” which is derived from
NOAA nautical charts. A “normal baseline” is defined under the Law of the Sea
as the low-water line along the coast as marked on officially recognized, large-
scale charts or the lowest charted datum, which is mean lower low water
(MLLW) in the United States. The method of arriving at this baseline is
described in the 1958 Convention and in the 1982 Convention. The U.S. normal
baselines are ambulatory and subject to changes such as accretion (addition of
land) and erosion. Unless the seaward boundary or zone is fixed, it will be
subject to corresponding change.

The location of maritime zones and boundaries can have potentially far-reaching
effects. As a result, NOAA works with other federal agencies, particularly the
U.S. Department of State, to periodically update U.S. maritime zones and
boundaries as depicted on NOAA navigational charts.