With growing concern about the oceans and the resources of this realm has come a proliferation of international and national efforts aimed at protecting this environment. This volume constitutes the initial effort to reflect on the outcomes associated with the third Law of the Sea Conference and to assess how the reforms and changes brought on by this conference have performed.

The establishment of 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ?s) constitutes one of the most far-reaching distributional and institutional changes in the history of the world. They brought over 20 % of the world?s oceans, a substantial proportion of its productivity, and 90-95 % of world fisheries under the national jurisdiction of coastal states. At this time, 145 states have ratified the Law of the Sea Convention and most have established EEZs. Some have established only a legal framework, while other countries have elaborated EEZ regimes. This volume focuses on the specific nature of the EEZ and the construction and evolution of institutions stemming from its introduction, specifically examining developments at local, national and international levels.

The analytical core of the volume will focus on the development of institutional arrangements for the management of marine living resources which occurs at different levels of social organization and has developed from the introduction of the EEZs. The chapters cover case studies from both the north and south, in the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. The case studies critically examine the impact of the EEZ regime on institutions at local, national, regional and international levels of social organization. The broad range of contributions by the authors highlights the diversity of institutions and outcomes that have emerged from the implementation of the EEZs, providing a rich opportunity for comparative analysis. By doing so, we seek to address three broad questions:

What is the nature of the institutions that coastal states have created within the framework provided by the EEZs?

How has the creation of the EEZs affected the vertical interplay among institutions at different levels of social organisation (i.e., international, national, traditional and co-management regimes) and the horizontal interplay among institutions focused on different functional arenas (i.e., trade, environment and fisheries)?

How has the development of EEZ-based regimes affected the fit of marine resource management institutions with biophysical systems?

This edited volume is important reading for those policy-makers, practitioners and scholars involved in these endeavors as well as those in the fields of international relations, marine resource management, global environmental governance, and more generally, institutions and organizations.