French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Merchant marine

10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 217,203 GRT/348,632 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 3 refrigerated cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 2 bulk; note--a subset of the French register

Ports

none; offshore anchorage only

Telecommunications

NA

Note

defense is the responsibility of France

Overview

Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fishing catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.

Climate

antarctic

Coastline

1,232 km

Comparative area

slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Delaware

Contiguous zone

12 nm;

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploration;

Disputes

claim in Antarctica (Terre Adelie) not recognized by the US

Environment

Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other

Natural resources

fish, crayfish

Note

located in the southern Indian Ocean about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia

Terrain

volcanic

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

7,781 km2; land area: 7,781 km2; includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Crozet; excludes claim not recognized by the US of about 500,000 km2 in Antarctica known as Terre Adelie

Flag

the flag of France is used

Long-form name

Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Type

overseas territory of France governed by High Administrator Claude CORBIER (since NA 1988)

Population

210 (July 1990), growth rate 0.00% (1990); mostly researchers