Definition

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides that the areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (ABNJ) include:

1. the water column beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or beyond the Territorial Sea where no EEZ has been declared, called the High Seas (Article 86); and
2. the seabed which lies beyond the limits of the continental shelf, established in conformity with Article 76 of the Convention, designated as "the Area" (Article 1).

Kimball, L.A. (2005) ¹