Chapter 23, Problem 1QC

Do you think extending nations' ocean territorial limits is a good idea? Do you think it would have any effect on the world's fish populations?

Summary Introduction

To review:

Whether it is a good and reasonable idea to extend the territorial limit of the ocean surrounding a nation. Also, predict its effect on the fish population, in case it is implemented.

Introduction:

According to the international law, the sea area of 12 nautical miles that surrounds a nation is regarded as that nation’s territory and termed as territorial waters. Any area beyond these 12 nautical miles is referred to as high sea and is common to all countries.

Explanation of Solution

A nation has full rights to use its territorial waters for any purpose like fishing, sailing, construction, and for recreational purposes. Most of the times, these territorial waters along the coasts are overused. This overfishing has led to a decline of fish population and has also resulted in the extinction of some species.

In case the territorial limit is extended beyond the current boundary, the anthropogenic activities would increase. This would lead to overexploitation of the aquatic resources and contribute to pollution on a large scale. Therefore, extending the territorial limit in the ocean is not a good idea as this can disturb the aquatic ecosystem.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that the limit of the territorial waters should not be extended beyond the current boundaries. This is because man can cause harm to the aquatic ecosystem to a greater extent by overfishing and polluting the water.