Maritime Boundary Delimitation using Different Methods of GIS - A Case Study of the France-United Kingdom (Jersey Island) Boundaries

Maritime and territorial zone disputes have created tensions and conflicts between countries with contiguous or adjacent maritime zones. France escalated its fishing rights dispute with the UK by announcing that it had seized an unlicensed British vessel operating in French waters. This paper examines the incident by reviewing the geographical condition and creating a maritime boundary map between the France-United Kingdom (Jersey) that complies with the UNCLOS 1982 convention. This research uses GIS software and bathymetry data to create maritime boundaries according to the UNCLOS 1982 convention. GIS methods used include Buffer, Thiessen Polygon and Geocap Maritime Delimitation toolbox. According to the "geocap maritime delimitation"toolbox, the total water area measures 509 square miles, with an even division between the two areas. However, when utilizing the buffer and Thiessen polygon methods, there is a notable variation of 56 square miles between the water areas of Jersey and France. The delimitation method from the Geocap Maritime Delimitation toolbox was chosen as the best method because this tool can generate critical points and baselines from the closest point between two baselines that follow UNCLOS convention and produce a solution with the equidistance division between the two countries.