Netherlands boundaries in the North Sea

Areas in the territorial sea

In addition to the maritime zones under UNCLOS, there are other maritime areas in the Netherlands territorial sea that depend on the baseline. They are the following:

• the zones of the European common fisheries policy.
  Within these waters, EU Member States may enforce catch restrictions. The Netherlands allows Belgian, Danish and German ships to fish in the waters between 3 and 12 miles off the Dutch coast.  French fishery vessels are allowed to fish between 6 and 12 miles off the coast. And British vessels are allowed to fish between Texel and the boundary with Germany.
• the Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) Wadden Sea.
  In 2002, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) designated the Wadden Sea as a PSSA sea. The outer limit of the Dutch part of this protected area is the 3-mile line.
• the  Coastal Waters according to the European Water Framework Directive.
  The Water Framework Directive applies a zone of 1 mile (1.852 metre) off the coast. This zone represents the limit of the basins of the Ems, Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt rivers.

Boundary treaties with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom

The maritime boundaries of the Netherlands in the North Sea are laid down in treaties with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Maritime boundary with Belgium

The maritime boundary with Belgium is laid down in two treaties: one for the territorial sea and one for the Continental Shelf.

Maritime boundary with Germany

The maritime boundary with Germany for the Continental Shelf is laid down in two treaties: one for the Continental Shelf near the coast, and one for further offshore.

The Netherlands and Germany have not yet agreed on the boundary of the territorial sea near the Ems estuary. Yet, there is a treaty with agreements on cooperation: the Ems-Dollard Treaty. A supplementary agreement has been added to this treaty. It only deals with the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas. The borders of the treaty and the Supplementary Agreement do not match.

Maritime boundary with the United Kingdom

The maritime boundary with the United Kingdom is also laid down in a treaty. It was amended twice, due to the connection of the boundaries with Germany and Belgium.

Overview of legislation

Act	Geographic cope	Year	Geodetic datum
Ems-Dollard Treaty	Netherlands	1960	Potsdamer Datum
Supplementary Agreement to the Ems- Dollard	Netherlands	1962	Potsdamer Datum
Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the lateral delimitation of the continental shelf in the vicinity of the coast	Netherlands	1964	Potsdamer Datum
Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland relating to the delimitation of the continental shelf under the North Sea between the two countries	Netherlands	1965, amended in 1971 and 2004	ED50
Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the delimitation of the Continental Shelf under the North Sea	Netherlands	1971	ED50
Netherlands Territorial Sea (Demarcation) Act	Netherlands	1985	ED50
Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium on the delimitation of the Territorial Sea	Netherlands	1996	ED50
Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium on the delimitation of the Continental Shelf	Netherlands	1996	ED50
Exclusive Economic Zone (Establishment) Act	Kingdom	1999
Exclusive Economic Zone of the Netherlands (Outer Limits) Decree	Netherlands	2000
Mining Act	Netherlands	2002	ED50
Contiguous Zone (Establishment) Act	Kingdom	2005
Contiguous Zone (Demarcation) Decree	Kingdom	2006
Water Act	Kingdom	2009
Regulation on the common fisheries policy	European Union