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9 Sea Grant L. & Pol'y J. 16 (2018)
Managing Areas beyond National Jurisdiction in the Gulf of Mexico: Current and Developing International Legal Authority and Future Challenges

handle is hein.journals/sglum9 and id is 126 raw text is: SEA GRANT LAW & POLICY JOURNAL VOL. 9:2 MANAGING AREAS BEYOND NATIONAL JURISDICTION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO: CURRENT AND DEVELOPING INTERNATIONAL LEGAL AUTHORITY AND FUTURE CHALLENGES Richard J. McLaughlin1 and Kateryna M. Wowk2 I. INTRODUCTION The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is the ninth largest body of water in the world with a shoreline that stretches 3,540 miles along the nations of the United States, Mexico, and Cuba. It possesses extraordinary natural resources, ecological complexity, and cultural richness. A number of key economic sectors in all three nations are concentrated in the GOM including offshore energy, refining, commercial and recreational fishing, marine transportation, and tourism. Much of this economic activity is dependent on or related to the unique mix of natural resources located in the Gulf and its position at the crossroads of international maritime commerce. Ocean currents are an important feature of the GOM, transporting marine organisms, nutrients, and pollutants across the entire Gulf and affecting weather patterns. These currents are complex, but generally enter the GOM through the Yucatan Strait and exit through the Florida Strait. This is known as the Loop Current, which eventually becomes the famous Gulf Stream of the Atlantic Ocean. Smaller currents, termed eddies, are separate from the Loop Current and are regionally important.4 Important marine habitat features like hard and soft banks, coral reefs, and even man-made structures such as oil and gas platforms and associated infrastructure create biological connectivity within the GOM and 1 Dr. Richard J. McLaughlin is Endowed Chair for Coastal and Marine Policy and Law at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. 2 Dr. Kateryna M. Wowk is Senior Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. 3 See, e.g., EPA's Work in the GulfofMexico, EPA, hps //www epa ~g foex co (last visited June 29, 2018). The Gulf of Mexico borders five U.S. states to the north, Mexico's eastern shoreline and the Yucatan Peninsula to the south, and to the east, it is bordered by the island of Cuba. 4 Harriet L. Nash & Richard J. McLaughlin, Opportunities for Trinational Governance of Ecologically Connected Habitat Sites in the Gulf of Mexico, 4 KOREAN MAR. INST. INT'L J. MAR. AFF. & FISHERIES 1, 7-8, (2012).

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