- Spanish internal waters (to the baseline) cover 7 674 km2 and its territorial sea (12 nm zone) covers 43 332 km2
- Spain has established an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Atlantic Ocean (Law 15/1978)
- Spain has established an EEZ in the North-west Mediterranean Sea, by Royal Decree 236/2013 of 5 April 2013.
- Spain has an agreement with Italy on the delimitation of the continental shelf. The delimitation principle used is that of equidistance.
- In 2006, Spain submitted information on the limits of the continental shelf claimed by Spain and three other coastal States in the area of the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay. In 2010, an extension of the continental shelf was granted. Negotiations to share this area between the four coastal States are still in progress.
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Spain
WHICH MARITIME SPATIAL PLANS EXIST?
There are currently no maritime spatial plans in Spain. However, Spain is moving forward on the technical development of Maritime Spatial Planning and is in the process of finalising its five MSPs, one for each of the five marine subdivisions. Public consultation on the maritime spatial plans of the 5 marine subdivisions is open until June 25. The strategic and environmental assessment, as well as the consultation with neighbouring countries (formal and informal exchange point of view) will follow.
MSP LEGISLATION
Spain adopted the Royal Decree 363/2017 of 8 April establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning, that transposes into Spanish legislation the Directive 2014/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July.
National MSP authority & Contact
Ministry for Ecological Transition
General Directorate for the Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea
Ms. Sagrario Arrieta Algarra
Coordinadora de Área
sarrieta@mapama.es
Strategic Environmental Assessment
General Directorate of Biodiversity and Environmental Quality
D. Eugenio Jesús Domínguez Collado
Subdirector General de Evaluación Ambiental
Buzon-sgea@mapama.es
Environmental Impact Assessment
General Directorate of Biodiversity and Environmental Quality
D. Eugenio Jesús Domínguez Collado
Subdirector General de Evaluación Ambiental
Buzon-sgea@mapama.es