Governance of the seamounts in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO)

In the regional governance of the Indian Ocean developed for the high sea and areas adjacent to it, the place given to the management of areas beyond the national jurisdiction of coastal States is very marginal. This is the case for the seamounts, some of which >200 nautical miles EEZ will be attached to countries claiming an extension of their continental shelf to guarantee the exclusive rights of exploitation (benthic living or mineral resources), whereas other will keep an open-access status. However, all of these highly productive zones are at the crossroads of fisheries, ecosystems conservation and governance considerations for their management.