Under the European Union (EU) Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) the Royal Navy and French Naval Service undertake the role of maritime surveillance of fishing control according to sustainable management of the North Atlantic fisheries resource. The Fisheries Control grey area is a known management zone of fisheries control monitored for activities and catch regulation and restriction.

The twelve nautical mile limit pertains to fisheries and it gives exclusive rights to United Kingdom registered fishing vessels to fish in those waters. Between six and twelve miles some fishing vessels, flying the flags of other nations, have historical fishing rights.

The exclusive economic zone of the State is the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial seas subject to the specific legal regime established in Part V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 2. The outer limit of the exclusive economic zone is the line every point of which lies at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline. In the exclusive economic zone the State has (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds, (b) jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of the Convention with regard to (i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures, (ii) marine scientific research, and (iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and (c) other rights and duties provided for in international law.

The six nautical mile limit pertains to fisheries and it gives exclusive rights to United Kingdom registered fishing vessels to fish in those waters. Between six and twelve miles some fishing vessels, flying the flags of other nations, have historical fishing rights.