[Joakal]

On a tangent, there's a lot of overfishing leading to depletion.

Sooner or later, countries need to start banning big wild fishing.

Another reason to ban is that it's hard to monitor catching practices. Some catching practices wipe out whole ecosystems in one sweep, including taking endangered fishes, seals, etc. The boats will know they will get in trouble for keeping it and will throw them back in water, but not all of them will be alive.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-12-22/global-fish-sto...

On a side note: I wish the Australian government will have the balls to stop Japanese military from escorting Japanese whalers in Australian waters: https://www.news.com.au/world/japanese-navy-sent-to-assist-w... Australia gets no royalty from whales hunted within its waters by Japanese government!

[steve19]

If its outside Australia's EEZ there is nothing they can do legally. An illegal military confrontation is the last thing anyone needs. The whole South China Sea issue is over this right to navigate freely outside a EEZ (and that man made islands don't count towards an EEZ)

[Joakal]

Well, that sucks.

Surely there's oil rigs, etc outside of EEZ, does that mean anyone can set it up without approvals?

[steve19]

Those are governed by international agreements and treaties, but if the Continental Shelf extends further than 200 NM (the EEZ) then states still have rights up to 350 NM for mineral and hydrocarbon extraction.

I am not sure what happens further out than 350 NM but I am sure there is some UN agreement on that too. Not sure if any drilling takes place more than 350 NM.