Reefs and the 1982 Convention on the
Law of the Sea
P.B. Beazley*
Before 1973 special consideration was not generally given to the status of drying coral reefs as baselines for the territorial sea, and they were not usually distin- guished from other natural features which uncovered at low-tide, although there are isolated examples of State practice where that was not so. Even before the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) atolls were perceived as being particular geographical features the importance of which was inadequately reflected by such an approach. With the purpose of remedying this an article specifically referring to (coral) reefs was proposed. With minor mcdifications it became Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention). There are also references to reefs in Article 47 which concerns archipelagic straight baselines. The relevant provisions read as follows:
"Art. 6 Reef In the case of islands situated on atolls or of islands having fringing reefs, the baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is the seaward low-water line of the reef, as shown by the appropriate symbol on charts officially recognized by the coastal State. Art. 47 Archipelagic baselines 1. An archipelagic State may draw straight archipelagic baselines joining the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archi- pelago ...
7. For the purpose of computing the ratio of water to land ... land areas may include waters lying within the fringing reefs of islands and atolls,
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including that part of a steep-sided oceanic plateau which is enclosed or nearly enclosed by a chain of limestone islands and drying reefs lying on the perimeter of the plateau. These provisions are distinct from Article 13 dealing with low-tide elevations, and whereas application of that article is an option for the coastal State, Article 6 applies ipso jure. It was intended that Article 6 should introduce an important and useful new element into the determination of territorial sea baselines and the delimitation of internal waters. This paper examines the history of the use of coral reefs as base- lines in international law and practice, and considers the meaning and appli- cation of the article. It also considers the relationship between Articles 6 and 47 and the application of the reef provisions in the latter.
Physical Features of Reefs The term reef refers to a mass of rock or coral which either reaches close to the sea surface or is exposed at low tide. That part of a reef which is above water at low tide but submerged at high tide is a "drying reef". In the context of Article 6, as will become apparent, the term refers only to coral reefs. Coral reefs are tropical, shallow water ecosystems, largely restricted to the area between the latitudes of 30°N and 30°S. The true reef-building corals are animals (polyps) that collectively deposit calcium carbonate to build colonies. Not all "coral" reefs are constructed predominantly of corals. In particular, several genera of red algae grow as heavily calcified encrustations which bind the reef framework together, forming structures such as algal ridges.2 Reef building corals grow best in shallow, sunlit water, between the low-water mark and a depth of 11metres. They tend to 3 grow upward and outward toward the prevailing winds and currents.3 Coral reefs may be found in most areas of the tropics, but are most prevalent in the central and western Pacific Ocean. They take four main forms: atolls, fringing reefs, barrier reefs and patch reefs. Patch reefs form on irregularities on shallow parts of the sea bed, and are generally but not invariably associated with coral growth on continental shelves. Small patches may occur inside atoll lagoons. An atoll is a ring-shaped (but sometimes elliptical or horseshoe-shaped) coral reef which has islands or islets on it, the shallow rim enclosing a deeper central area or lagoon in which there is no pre-existing land or islands of non-coral origin; often springing from ocean depths.4 Some definitions, however, do not insist on there being islands on the reef.5 The reefs are usually interrupted by channels,