Kenya to acquire 150 nautical miles of Indian Ocean in new ‘scramble’

In 2005, Kenya set up a task force headed by lawyer Juster Nkoroi to prepare the report required by the United Nations staking a sovereign claim on its continental shelf.

A continental shelf is the area covered by water surrounding nearly all continents, which is relatively shallow, being dozens of metres deep as compared with the thousands of metres deep open ocean, and extends outward to the continental slope where the deep ocean begins. The continental shelf could comtain huge deposits of gold or oil.

Sediment from the erosion of land surfaces, washed into the sea by rivers and waves, nourishes microscopic plants and animals. Larger animals then feed upon them. These larger animals include the great schools of fish, such as tuna, menhaden, cod and mackerel, which are caught for food.

The continental shelf regions also contain the majority of plants and animals that live on the ocean floor.

The continental slope connects the continental shelf and the oceanic crust. It begins at the continental shelf break, where the bottom sharply drops off into a steep slope. It usually begins at 130 metres depth and can be up to 20 kilometres wide.

Additional reporting by Mike Mande