The exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic

In the regime of the exclusive economic zone the coastal state has sovereign rights of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing all natural resources, living and non-living, and jurisdiction in respect of the construction and use of artificial islands and structures, marine scientific research and protection and preservation of the marine environment, as well as other rights and duties provided for in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Until the proclamation of the Exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic, the sea areas beyond the territorial seas have the status of the high seas in which all states enjoy certain freedoms, including freedom of fishing and freedom of navigation. The proclamation of the exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic would give Croatia the control over the living resources in that zone, enabling it to take the conserving measures and measures aimed at the promotion of the optimum utilization of the living resources. In addition, the proclamation of the exclusive Economic zone would be especially beneficial for the protection and preservation of the marine environment. The arguments advocated against the Croatian proclamation of the exclusive economic zone are economic (costs of necessary measures, control and surveillance) and political (alleged opposition of some neighboring states). Given the numerous advantages of the proclamation of the exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic, these arguments must be carefully examined, possibly with the neighboring states.