Transboundary Stocks and Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Maine Area

The Case Concerning the Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine area was recently argued by Canada and the United States before the International Court of Justice. This is the first case ever to involve the delimitation of an EEZ. This paper describes one novel argument in the case, the United States argument that the boundary should be drawn in a way that minimizes the number of transboundary stocks. Such a boundary would facilitate fishery conservation and management because it avoids the difficulties that arise when two states fish joint stocks.