I am often asked what my opinion is on the renaming of the world’s largest Gulf. For me the name change has taken a little getting used to. And I am still not completely there yet. I do however understand there are some legal & practical reasons for the renaming that citizens should be aware of. U.S. Federal waters extend 200 nautical miles which is roughly 230 miles from its shoreline. In December of 2023 a world court ruled that countries with land shelves were legally entitled to claim those landshelves as their own. They are no longer considered international waters. The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America does not apply to the whole Gulf, but only to those areas above the landshelves which in practical terms do not exceed the 200 nautical miles. For maritime shipping this important distinction needs to be made on its maps & charts so they know where they are legally traveling. By renaming what were once considered international waters to The Gulf of America the U.S. will be better able in the future to defend its sovereign territory from piracy & other maritime crimes which may include Naval invaders from hostile nations. By this courts ruling. Practically speaking the U.S. can now exercise it’s right to continue producing it’s own oil in its own territorial waters. Anyone who read “A Flicker in the Water” knows the importance of oil production for the Gulf coast states specifically Louisiana. As an avid/passionate fisherman for many years on the Gulf I can tell you fishing boats from other nations would as a regular practice enter U.S. Federal waters fill their boats with tons of fish take them back to their country of origin then resell the fish back into U.S. markets. Hopefully this practice will be severely curtailed if not eliminated altogether.
So I am in favor of the name change as should all responsible nations be.