Ocean context · Guide

Where launch areas meet fishing zones

A rocket’s route can extend far beyond the country it launched from. Compare modeled surface areas with the maritime zones where coastal states have fisheries and other resource rights.

Start with the surface area

Select a launch in Explore, then open Fishing zones & launch areas in the launch-site panel. The map loads worldwide Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and lists the zones that intersect the published impact, recovery, or reentry polygons for that launch.

Each result names the state or states in the boundary source. Compare those names with the launch-site country shown above the list. The launch-site country alone does not identify every legally responsible launching state.

What the boundaries mean

Under UNCLOS Article 56, coastal states have rights over natural resources in their EEZs, including living resources. An EEZ is a useful fisheries context layer; it is not a map of actual fishing activity or every fisheries-management rule.

The display uses Marine Regions version 12, dated October 2023. Joint and disputed claims retain the source’s labels. Boundaries are simplified and can change. The source contains 285 records; 284 have mapped geometry. Marine protected areas remain a separate layer using NOAA’s U.S. inventory.

When there is no result

If a launch has no published surface polygons, the comparison says so. Orbital paths overhead are excluded. “No overlap found” only describes the available shapes and displayed boundaries; it cannot rule out an impact elsewhere.