Over eighty percent of the world's fish inhabit waters less than 200 meters deep, and most of these waters now fall within the economic zones of one or another country. This means foreign fishermen must now obtain permission from the governing authorities before fishing there.
海洋中，百分之八十以上的魚類棲息在水深二百公尺以內的大陸棚，各國二百浬（約三百七十公里）一劃，大陸棚幾乎都成了私有海域，原在此作業的外國漁民，生計立刻受影響，唯一的辦法是透過談判或合作方式，取得經濟海域擁有國的許可，進入作業。