Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

has the 5th largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) within Europe, 3rd largest of the EU and the 20th largest EEZ in the world, at 1,727,408 km².Seaaroundus.org

Portugal's exclusive economic zone

Continental Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and ...

327,667 km² *

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

Islands 446,108 km² *

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Islands 953,633 km² * Total: 1,727,408 km² Portugal submitted a claim to extend its

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

over additional 2.15 million square kilometers of the neighboring continental shelf in May 2009, which would result in a marine territory of more than 3,877,408 km².

Dispute with Spain

Spain disputes the EEZ's southern border, maintaining that it should be drawn halfway between

and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. Portugal exercises sovereignty over the

Savage Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands.

, a small

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

north of the Canaries, hence claiming an EEZ border further south. Spain objects, arguing that the Savage Islands do not have a separate

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

, citing article 121 of the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

. On the basis of this article, Spain claims the Savage Islands are not islands, but instead uninhabitable

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

. The Savage Islands are a protected Portuguese

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, and thus its year-round inhabitants are workers of

Madeira Natural Park The Madeira Natural Park ( pt, Parque Natural da Madeira) is a large biological reserve in Madeira with a unique endemic flora and fauna. It was created in 1982 to safeguard the natural heritage of the archipelago, and contains a number of endan ...

who look over the isolated natural reserve, protecting its wildlife. Over the years, the Portuguese authorities have seized some Spanish

fishing boats A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

around the area for

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...

.Carvalho, Luis and Leitão, Nuno, ''A Noção "Estratégica" das Ilhas Selvagens'' (in Portuguese)

References

External links

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – Part V

Sea Around Us Project – View the EEZ of all nations
(Note that this site does not distinguish between

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

and the EEZ, and so tends to overstate EEZ areas.)
Task Group for the extension of the Continental Shelf
map *

GIS A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

data at

VLIZ Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase The Flanders Marine Institute (Dutch language, Dutch: Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee, VLIZ) provides a focal point for marine scientific research in Flanders, northern Belgium. The Flemish government established the institute in 1999 together with ...

{{Portugal topics Economy of Portugal

Borders of Portugal Fishing in Portugal

Portugal's exclusive economic zone

Dispute with Spain

See also

References

External links