Archipelagic Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone Act, 1986 (Cap. 51:06).

This Act, among other things, declares the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to be an Archipelagic State, defines various matters with respect to archipelagic waters (sects. 2-8) and provides for the establishment of an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles (sects. 14-24). The archipelagic waters of Trinidad and Tobago include any areas of the sea within archipelagic baselines which shall consist of straight baselines joining the outer points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archipelago (sects. 4 and 6). The breadth of the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf shall be measured form the archipelagic baselines (sect. 7). Trinidad and Tobago reserves the right to draw closing lines within the archipelagic waters for the delimitation of the internal waters as defined in the Territorial Sea Act (sect. 8). Section 9 deals with passage of foreign ships through the archipelagic waters of Trinidad and Tobago. Sections 25 and 26 provide some regulation of foreign fishing in the EEZ: Such fishing requires a licence which may be issued in respect to a foreign fishing vessel or to the master and members of the crew of the vessel. The remaining sections deal, inter alia, with enforcement (sects. 28-29), offences (sects. 30-31) and regulation making powers of the President (sect. 32).