The Alboran Sea is a sub-basin of the western Mediterranean that lies between the
Spanish and the North African coasts, and between the Algero-Provençal Basin and
the rest of the western Mediterranean in the east, and the Strait of Gibraltar in the
west. It is a clearly identifiable marine area due to a series of defining features
(physical, geopolitical, economic etc.) and some conflicts and legal disputes over the
multiple and heterogeneous use of a relatively small space for the coexistence of
three States (Spain, Morocco, and Algeria), a colonial territory (Gibraltar) and a
number of bases under Spanish sovereignty along the Moroccan coast.
The Alboran Sea’s morphology (semi-enclosed sea), size (approx. 79,000 km
2 :
3% of the surface area of the Mediterranean) and bathymetry accord it some very
distinctive features, and its position in the westernmost sector of the Mediterranean
enables it to communicate with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Situated as it is between the coasts of Spain and the Moroccan and Algerian
Maghreb, the Alboran Sea is 490 km (approx. 272 nm) long from east to west and
160 km (approx. 89 nm) wide from north to south.
2.2.1 The Regional Context
The Alboran sub-basin is framed in the westernmost part of the Mediterranean
region as a whole, whereby it shares this wider region’s geographical and physical
features and also its human character. The entire Mediterranean is a semi-enclosed
sea (as is the Alboran) and it is this particular morphological configuration which, on
many occasions, exacerbates the various environmental (pollution, eroding coastal
areas etc.) and human problems (conflicts and legal disputes between coastal States
and with third States, border issues, and threats to regional security) (Naïr 1995,
1998; Bethemont 2000; Sanguin 2000) that are produced in its waters and on its
shores. Notwithstanding, its size and morphology compel the States around its
shores to strive for mutual understanding and regional cooperation, as geological
features such as its enclosed morphology and the short distance between its shores
are not only the cause of friction, but also give rise to the need to coexist and share
the common space (Khader 1995; Aubarell 1999; Morillas and Blázquez 2009;
López García and Hernando de Larramendi 2010; Beneyto 2010; Florensa 2017).
From the geopolitical and socio-economic viewpoints, the Alboran is basically an
area where different and occasionally opposed socio-economic, cultural and
Table 2.2 Alboran Sea.
Surface by jurisdictional areas
Total jurisdictions
Surface (sq. km)
%
Inland waters
4346
5
Territorial sea
25,326
32
High seas/Continental shelf
17,140
22
Exclusive economic zone
32,235
41
Total
79,047
100
Source: Author
14
J. L. Suárez-de Vivero et al.
Spanish and the North African coasts, and between the Algero-Provençal Basin and
the rest of the western Mediterranean in the east, and the Strait of Gibraltar in the
west. It is a clearly identifiable marine area due to a series of defining features
(physical, geopolitical, economic etc.) and some conflicts and legal disputes over the
multiple and heterogeneous use of a relatively small space for the coexistence of
three States (Spain, Morocco, and Algeria), a colonial territory (Gibraltar) and a
number of bases under Spanish sovereignty along the Moroccan coast.
The Alboran Sea’s morphology (semi-enclosed sea), size (approx. 79,000 km
2 :
3% of the surface area of the Mediterranean) and bathymetry accord it some very
distinctive features, and its position in the westernmost sector of the Mediterranean
enables it to communicate with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Situated as it is between the coasts of Spain and the Moroccan and Algerian
Maghreb, the Alboran Sea is 490 km (approx. 272 nm) long from east to west and
160 km (approx. 89 nm) wide from north to south.
2.2.1 The Regional Context
The Alboran sub-basin is framed in the westernmost part of the Mediterranean
region as a whole, whereby it shares this wider region’s geographical and physical
features and also its human character. The entire Mediterranean is a semi-enclosed
sea (as is the Alboran) and it is this particular morphological configuration which, on
many occasions, exacerbates the various environmental (pollution, eroding coastal
areas etc.) and human problems (conflicts and legal disputes between coastal States
and with third States, border issues, and threats to regional security) (Naïr 1995,
1998; Bethemont 2000; Sanguin 2000) that are produced in its waters and on its
shores. Notwithstanding, its size and morphology compel the States around its
shores to strive for mutual understanding and regional cooperation, as geological
features such as its enclosed morphology and the short distance between its shores
are not only the cause of friction, but also give rise to the need to coexist and share
the common space (Khader 1995; Aubarell 1999; Morillas and Blázquez 2009;
López García and Hernando de Larramendi 2010; Beneyto 2010; Florensa 2017).
From the geopolitical and socio-economic viewpoints, the Alboran is basically an
area where different and occasionally opposed socio-economic, cultural and
Table 2.2 Alboran Sea.
Surface by jurisdictional areas
Total jurisdictions
Surface (sq. km)
%
Inland waters
4346
5
Territorial sea
25,326
32
High seas/Continental shelf
17,140
22
Exclusive economic zone
32,235
41
Total
79,047
100
Source: Author
14
J. L. Suárez-de Vivero et al.