Economic and geographic data

Total area: 48,730 km2

Continental shelf (up to 200 m): 9,484

EEZ: 238,000 km2

Coastline: 1,575 km

Population (2006): 9,6 million

Current GDP (gross domestic product, 2006): $ EE UU 30,600 million

Agricultural GDP (2006): $ EE UU 3,763 million

Fishing GDP (2005): 0,01 % to GDP

The Dominican Republic takes up two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola (La Isla Española). It takes up an area of 48,422 km2 located between latitudes 17°30’ north and 19°56’ and longitudes 68°24’ west and 72°00’ west. It has 1,575 kilometres of coasts washed by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The insular shelf of the country, up to 180 meters of deep and including the submerged banks, is 11,786 square kilometres (PRODESPE, 1980).

In accordance with the law N° 573 of 1 April 1977, which amends the law N° 186 of 1967 on Territorial Sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Dominican Republic covers an extension of approximately 238,000 km2.

The marine environments of the country include large areas of marine phanerogam grasslands (13,020 hectares), coral reefs, sandy-muddy seabed, mangroves, sand beaches and rock coasts. The main fish resources of the country are the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, the shellfish, Strombus gigas and demersal and pelagic fishes.

From the eastern extremity of the country, Cabo Engaño (18°37’ – 66°24’ west) the coast is divided between two sides nearly equal, one oriented to the north and the other to the south. These sides are similar for aspect, nature and topography. Their main characteristic is an hybrid coast. It is composed of a succession of rocky and sandy segments, but without a clear definite line. The gratest exceptions to this rule are the Pedernales Peninsula with the Beata Island at Southwest, the Catalina Peninsula with the Soana Island at Southeast and especially the Samaná Bay and Peninsula at Northeast.

The coastal areas also include many river mouths. Along the southern side, the river mouths are generally short and sometimes seasonal. The contrary is along the northern side, which receive the most important rivers of the country. Thanks to this situation, the main mangroves of the country (235 km2 in all) are in this coast.

Offshore, the shelf’s extension of the country is less important. In fact, the insular shelf area, between the coast and the ridge's insular slope (that is to say in the interval bathymetric from 0 to 200 m), doesn’t take more than 9,500 km2. Compared with the coast’s length (1,575 km) the insular shelf has an average width of 5,3 km. This shelf has five small plains with a surface approximately of 4,000 km2. (Montecristi Bank, Samana Bay, Cabo Engaño Bank, San Pedro de Macorís, Baní-Barahona).

In addition to these five plains, all submarine bottoms of the Dominican Republic include two oceanic banks located about 80 km., at north of its northern side: the Silver Bank and the Navidad Bank. These two banks along the ridge’s insular slope have a total circumference of approximately 400 km2 and a surface of 4,500 km2, their seafloors are essentially of coral sand with rocky and sandy outcrop.