boatgeek wrote:
... US territorial waters extend 200 miles from
our coast (an act of Reagon, who I actually admired). Almost all
of Cuba's northern coast actually falls into our territorial waters.
I am sure you did not mean this to be taken literally. Cuba enforces its 12
mile territorial waters as many people (and _some_ airplanes) have learned
to their chagrin. I was in Havana in 1996 when Fidel's meager air force
took out a few of the "Brothers to the Rescue" crowd, Take my word for it:
it was a scary time.
Where you wrote "territorial waters" I suspect you were referring
to "exclusive economic zones" which may extend out 200 nautical miles (for a
definition see
http://www.answers.com/topic/exclusive-economic-zone. , and
for specifics on a country-by-country basis see
http://www.exxun.com/enmp/wr_maritime_claims_ee_1.html). As you can see,
the US is not unique in trying to enforce an "exclusive economic zone."
Almost every country with a seacoast has been at it for some time, and every
so often there's a gunfight between fishermen and some government agency
regarding this matter.
For example, in a case that may be surprising to some, one of the earliest
instances of so-called "high seas piracy" occurred in 1995 (see
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V115/N10/canada.10w.html ) when Canada attacked and
seized a Spanish vessel in international waters. The European Union, which
oversees fishing issues for its member nations and is not normally known for
name-calling, condemned Canada, calling the high seas dispute over turbot
fishing an act of "organized piracy." Gee, that sounds familiar to r.b.c
readers, doesn't it? A religious person might opine: "Let he who is without
sin cast the first stone."
For more information on the current definition of "territorial waters" see
(I've copied the relevant parts of the referenced URLs):
http://www.answers.com/topic/territorial-waters
quoted
"The UN-sponsored Law of the Sea Treaty, which went into effect in 1994,
codified territorial waters of 12 nautical mi (13.8 mi/22.2 km) and an
exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical mi (230 mi/370 km). In 1999, U.S.
agencies were empowered by presidential proclamation to enforce American law
up to 24 miles (39 km) offshore, doubling the previous limit."
/quoted
--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/