In order to implement policies relating to marine areas, the EU has determined marine regions and sub-regions where waters are under the jurisdiction of member States. These are the Regional Advisory Councils (Council Decision of 19th July 2004 [2004/585/CE][1]) and the marine regions and sub-regions which were created in the proposed marine strategy Directive [SEC (2005) 1290][2]. As such, they are not yet legally binding.
Regional Advisory Councils
Seven councils were created, five of which correspond to geographical areas: the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, North Western waters and South Western waters. Although they have geographical locations, the last two were created for a specific type of resource and for a specific type of fleet, and are called Pelagic stocks and High seas/long distance fleet. The former covers all areas except the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, and the second, all non-Community waters.
Within each of the five geographical regions, the exact boundaries of the waters that come under each of the Advisory Councils correspond to the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea), CECAF (Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic) and GFCM (General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean) areas. The only region where the waters are under the jurisdiction of member States almost in their entirety and which does not include any of the high seas is the Baltic Sea. The other areas comprise jurisdictional waters of member States, third-party States and the high seas, especially the North Western waters and South Western waters Councils, as can be seen on the map which shows the limits of both declared and hypothetical (as is the case of the Mediterranean Sea) Exclusive Economic Zones.
Directive on Marine Strategy
The scope of application of the Directive is the jurisdictional waters of the member States as a whole (including, should it be the case, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf) that Article 2 calls “European marine waters”. Article 3 of the proposed Directive indicates that these waters are contained within three marine regions: the Baltic Sea, the North Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. The last two are subsequently sub-divided into four sub-regions each, as can be seen on the corresponding map. Member States can also create subdivisions in the three identified regions as long as they are compatible with the sub-regions. Unlike the Regional Advisory Councils, the waters of the Atlantic make up a single region stretching from the United Kingdom to the Canary Islands and all the waters are, by definition, under the jurisdiction of one or other of the Union members.
For any commentand furher information, please contact: vivero@us.es
Notes:
[1] Official Journal of the European Union no. L 256 de 03/08/2004 p. 0017-0022
[2] Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Framework for Community Action in the field of Marine Environmental Policy (Marine Strategy Directive) [SEC(2005) 1290]. Brussels, 24.10.2005, COM (2005) 505 final, 2005/0211 (COD).
Marine Regions. Marine Strategy Directive [SEC (2005) 1290]
| Name | Sub-regions | Countries |
| Baltic Sea | Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania | |
| Mediterranean Sea | Wester Mediterranean Sea; Adriatic Sea; Jonian Sea; Aegean-Levantine Sea | Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Malta, Cyprus |
| North East Atlantic Ocean | Greater North; Celtic seas; Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast; Atlantic Ocean | Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden , United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Spain |
Regional Advisory Councils
| Name | ICES/CECAF areas | Countries |
| Baltic Sea | IIIb, IIIc and IIId | Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Finland |
| Mediterranean Sea | Maritime Waters of the Mediterranean off the East of line 5º36´ West | Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Malte, Greece, Slovenia |
| North Sea | IV, IIIa | United Kingdom, Norway, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Germany |
| North Western waters | (excluding Va and only EC waters in Vb), VI,VII | France, United Kingdom, Ireland |
| South Western waters | VIII, IX and X (waters around Azores), and CECAF divisions 34.1.1, 34.1.2 and 34.2.0 (waters around Madeira and the Canary Islands) | France, Spain, Portugal |
| Pelagic stocks | All areas (excluding the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea) | |
| High seas/long distance fleet | All non EC-waters |
Source: Official Journal of the European Union no. L 256 de 03/08/2004 p. 0017-0022; Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Framework for Community Action in the field of Marine Environmental Policy (Marine Strategy Directive) [SEC(2005) 1290]. Brussels, 24.10.2005, COM (2005) 505 final, 2005/0211 (COD).
