La lettre du Cnexo n° 3 Août Septembre 1980

Article 246 of the international agreement on marine legislation project deals with the practical conditions of scientific research in the exclusive economic area and on the continental shelf. We feel heavily concerned by this article and the first consequences of this new legislation begin to be felt in a very unpleasant way. In a large portion of seas and oceans, corresponding to the exclusive economic areas, research is subjected to the authorisation granted "in normal circumstances" by coastal states if it is conducted "exclusively for a peaceful purpose and in the aim to increase the scientific knowledge on marine environment in the interest of the whole of humanity."