Figure 10: The Nigerian continental shelf, with depth contours in fathoms, and unburied coral banks (based on sheet D200/375/7-74 by Federal Surveys Nigeria 1974)
Table 1: Limits of the Nigerian continental shelf (based on map sheet D 200/375/7-74 drawn and reproduced by federal surveys, Nigeria, 1974)
Moses (1980 and 1981) determined the length of the coastline of Cross River State to be about 129 km. Hence, the coastal area of Cross River operates in an area of about 4700 km2 (up to 40m contour). As for the Niger Delta (River State coastal area), it covers an area of about 8200 km2 (Scott, 1966). For most of Lagos, Ogun and Ondo States, the continental shelf is narrower. Off Lagos, the 40m depth contour marking the thermocline is located at a distance of 6 nautical miles (11 km) offshore. Therefore, for Lagos State, the area available for most demersal stocks (located between the shore and thermocline) is about 1800 km2. The continental shelves are between the shoreline and the 10fath (18m) contour exploit the continental shelf sector between 10 fath (18 m) and 22 fath (40 m). Estimates of continental shelf area for the sector with depth range (a) 0-18 m and (b) 18-91 m for the coastal States are given in Table 2.
Table 2: Estimated areas of two sectors of the Nigerian continental shelf for various coastal States (Ssentongo, Ajayi and Ukpe, 1983)
The current push by the Federal Government to have the country’s continental shelf extended by 350 nautical miles may expand the nation’s subterranean resources, which include oil, gas, gold and diamond. The Extended Continental Shelf Project started in 2000 with the aim of submitting Nigeria’s claims to the United Nations for the extension of our continental shelf beyond the present Exclusive Zone of 200 nautical miles. This is in accordance with the guidelines set by Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLUS) of 1982. The Article provides that a littoral state is entitled to make a claim of an extension of its maritime territory from the traditional 200 provided it can prove the subsoil prolongation of its territory. The proof will be in accordance with the guidelines of the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) charged with the responsibilities of examining submissions from all over the world. This is sovereignty rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting the natural resources of the territory.