Part I - The equitable and sustainable exploitation of marine environment and of its resources: Serra Sefrioui, Adapting to Sea Level Rise: A Law of the Sea Perspective -- Josè Manuel Sobrino and Marta Sobrido, The Common Fisheries Policy: A Difficult Compromise between Relative Stability and the Discard Ban -- Gabriela A. Oanta, Some recent questions regarding the European Union’s public access fisheries agreements -- Marta Chantal Ribeiro, The Protection of Biodiversity in the Framework of the Common Fisheries Policy: What Room for the Shared Competence? -- Emmanuela Doussis, Marine Scientific Research: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead -- Kamrul Hossain and Kathleen Morris, Protecting Arctic Ocean Marine Biodiversity In The Area Beyond National Jurisdiction: Plausible Legal Frameworks For Protecting High Arctic Waters -- Enrique J. Martin Perez, The environmental legal framework for the development of blue energy in Europe -- Monserrat Abad Castellos, The Black Sea and Blue Energy: challenges, opportunities and the role of the European Union -- Part II - The national and international response to maritime crimes: Giorgia Bevilacqua, Exploring the Ambiguity of Operation Sophia between Military and Search and Rescue Activities -- Jasenko Marin, Miso Mudric and Robert Mikac, Private Maritime Security Contractors and Use of Lethal Force in Maritime Domain -- Magne Frostad, United Nations authorized Embargoes and Maritime Interdiction: a Special Focus on Somalia -- Pirjo Kleemola-Juntunen, The Right of Innocent Passage: The Challenge of the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Implications for the Territorial Waters of the Åland Islands.Open AccessThis book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. It explores the diverse phenomena which are challenging the international law of the sea today, using the unique perspective of a simultaneous analysis of the national, individual and common interests at stake. This perspective, which all the contributors bear in mind when treating their own topic, also constitutes a useful element in the effort to bring today’s legal complexity and fragmentation to a homogenous vision of the sustainable use of the marine environment and of its resources, and also of the international and national response to maritime crimes. The volume analyzes the relevant legal frameworks and recent developments, focusing on the competing interests which have influenced State jurisdiction and other regulatory processes. An analysis of the competing interests and their developments allows us to identify actors and relevant legal and institutional contexts, retracing how and when these elements have changed over time.