Cod War

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Template:Politics of Iceland Image:Fishingboat.jpg

The Cod Wars (also called the Iceland Cod Wars) were a series of confrontations between the United Kingdom and Iceland over Iceland's claims of authority over tracts of ocean off their coastline as being their exclusive fishery zone.

As fish stocks diminished around the world, the scope for confrontation has increased. Throughout the world, examples exist of a nations' fishing fleets committing systematic incursions into fishing areas considered either "protected" or under the jurisdiction of another country.

In 1972, Iceland—whose quarter of a million population was at that time almost exclusively dependent on fishing—unilaterally extended its territorial waters before announcing plans to reduce over-fishing. It policed its quota-system with its coast guard, leading to a series of net-cutting incidents with the British trawlers that fished the areas. As a result, a fleet of British Royal Naval warships was employed to act as a deterrent against any future harassment of British fishing crews by the much smaller Icelandic craft.

In 1976, a compromise between the two countries allowed a maximum of 24 British trawlers access to the disputed 200 nautical mile (370 km) limit. This did not slow the decline of the British fisheries, severely affecting the economies of northern fishing ports in the UK, such as Grimsby, Hull and Fleetwood.

1 The Cod War Of 1893
2 The First Cod War
3 The Second Cod War
4 The Third Cod War
5 The Last Ramming
6 Source of the name
7 See also
8 External links

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The Cod War Of 1893

With the inevitable increases in fishing power enabled by steam power in the latter part of the 19th Century, pressure was exerted on boat owners and skippers to exploit new grounds. Large catches in Icelandic waters meant voyages across the North Atlantic became more regular. As a result, in 1893, the Danish Government, who governed Iceland and the Faroe Islands, claimed a fishing limit of 13 nautical miles (24 km) around their shores. British trawler owners disputed this claim and continued to send their ships to Icelandic waters. Danish gunboats patrolling the area escorted a number of vessels to port, fined them and confiscated their catch.

The British Government did not recognise this claim, on the grounds that setting such a precedent would lead to similar claims by nations which surrounded the North Sea, which would be damaging to the British fishing industry.

In 1896, the United Kingdom made an agreement with Iceland which allowed for British vessels to use any Icelandic port for shelter, provided they stowed their gear and trawl nets. In return, British vessels were not to fish east of a line from Illunypa to Thornodesker Islet.

In April 1899, the steam trawler Caspian, was fishing off the Faroe Islands when a Danish gunboat tried to arrest her for illegally fishing inside the limits. The trawler refused to stop and was fired upon. Eventually the trawler was caught, but before going aboard the Danish vessel, the skipper ordered his fishing mate to make a dash for it. The Caspian set off at full speed. The gunboat fired several shots, but could not catch up with the trawler, which returned heavily damaged to Grimsby. On board the Danish gunboat, the skipper of the Caspian was lashed to the mast. A court held at Thorshavn convicted him on several counts including illegal fishing and attempted assault and was jailed for thirty days.

With many British trawlers being charged and fined by Danish gunboats for fishing illegally within the 13 mile (24.1 km) limit (which the British Government did not recognise), the British press began to enquire why this Danish action against British interests was allowed to continue without intervention by the Royal Navy. The issue was left largely unresolved, and the reduction in fishing activity brought about by the First World War effectively ended the dispute.

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The First Cod War

The First Cod War lasted from 1 September until 12 November 1958. It began as soon as a new Icelandic law that expanded the Icelandic fishery zone from 4 nautical miles (nm) to 12 nm (from 7.4 to 22.2 km), came into force at midnight of 1 September.

The British declared that their trawlers would fish under protection from their warships in three areas, out of the Vestfjords, north of Horn and to the southeast of Iceland. All in all, 20 British trawlers, 4 warships and a supply vessel were inside the newly declared zones.

Many incidents followed, such as the one on 4 September, when V/s Ægir attempted to take a British trawler off the Vestfjords, but was thwarted when HMS Russel attempted to ram her.

At the end of September, the crew of V/s Þór noticed that the British trawler Cape Palliser was flying the Soviet flag along with the Union Jack. Þór's captain sent a message to the commander of HMS Grafton, asking whether this was done at their request or the crew of the Cape Palliser had actually changed their nationality. When news of this reached the USSR, the Soviet government protested heavily, for this was a violation of international law. Later the Cape Palliser was rammed and holed amidships by another trawler. During the period it was drifting helplessly, the Captain of the Þór attempted to board the Cape Palliser and arrest her, but was thwarted by HMS Grafton, who did temporary repairs by putting a patch on to the Cape Palliser so that she could limp home. The Cape Palliser stopped in Faroe Islands (Thorshavn) on the way back to Hull, where the shipyard workers, though on strike, turned out to make a more permanent repair to the Cape Palliser, by welding a plate over the hole in her side.

On 6 October, V/s María Júlía fired three shots at the trawler Kingston Emerald, yet the trawler escaped to sea.

On 12 November, V/s Þór encountered the trawler Hackness which had not stowed its nets legally. Hackness did not stop until Þór had fired two blanks and one live shell off its bow. Once again, H.M.S. Russel came to the rescue and its shipmaster ordered the Icelandic captain to leave the trawler alone as it was not within the 4 nm (7.4 km). Þór's captain, Eiríkur Kristófersson, protested that he would surely not do so, and ordered his men to approach the trawler with the gun manned. In response, the Russel threatened to sink the Icelandic boat if it so much as fired one shot at the Hackness. More British ships then arrived and the Hackness escaped.

Eventually the British government yielded to Iceland.

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The Second Cod War

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On 1 September 1972, the enforcement of the law that expanded the Icelandic fishery limits to 50 nm (92.6 km) began. Numerous British and West German trawlers continued fishing within the new zone on the first day.

The next day, the V/s Ægir chased 16 trawlers in waters east of the country, out of the 50 nm zone.

During this war, the Icelandic Coast Guard started to use the infamous net cutters, which proved so effective that they are often considered the key to the Icelandic victory.

On 18 January 1973, the nets were cut off eighteen trawlers. This infamous day forced the British seamen to threaten to leave the Icelandic fishery zone unless they had the protection of the Royal Navy. The day after, large and fast tugboats were sent to their defence. The first was the Statesman. The British considered this insufficient nonetheless. They were proved right, as the Icelandic Coast Guard still managed to cut their nets with impunity.

On 23 January 1973, the volcano Eldfell on Heimaey erupted and the Coast Guard needed to divert its attention to rescuing the inhabitants of the small islet, giving the trawlers freedom to do what they wanted for a short while.

On 17 May, the British trawlers left only to return two days later along with British frigates.

The Icelandic lightship Árvakur was rammed by four British vessels on 1 June and six days later V/s Ægir was rammed by H.M.S. Scylla, when it was reconnoitring for icebergs off the Vestfjords, even though no trawlers were present. Many such incidents followed.

On 16 September, Joseph Luns, Secretary-General of NATO, arrived in Reykjavík to talk with Icelandic ministers, who had been pressed to leave NATO as it had been of no help to the Icelandic people in the conflict.

After being threatened by the Icelandic government, the British warships were recalled on 3 October. An agreement was signed on 8 November.

The agreement bound British fishing to certain areas inside the 50 nm limit, resolving the dispute that time. The resolution was on the premise that British trawlers would limit their annual catch to no more than 130,000 tons. This agreement expired in November 1975, and the third "Cod War" began.

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The Third Cod War

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The Third Cod War (November 1975 - June 1976) occurred again between the United Kingdom and Iceland. Iceland had declared that the ocean up to 200 miles (370 km) from its coast fell under Icelandic authority. Britain did not recognize the 200 mile (370 km) exclusion zone, and as a result, there came to be an issue with British fishermen and their 'incursion' into the disputed zone. The 'war', which in fact was hardly a war at all with only a few shots being fired, saw British fishing trawlers have their nets cut by the Icelandic Coast Guard, and there were several incidents of ramming by Icelandic ships and British trawlers and frigates.

Iceland deployed a total of six Coast Guard vessels and two Polish-built stern trawlers which had been converted into Coast Guard vessels to enforce Icelandic control over fishing rights. In response, the United Kingdom deployed a total of twenty-two frigates, seven supply ships, nine tug-boats, and three support ships to protect its fishing trawlers.

A more serious turn of events came when Iceland threatened closure of the NATO base at Keflavík, which would, in the military perception of the time, have severely impaired NATO's ability to defend the Atlantic Ocean from the Soviet Union. As a result, the British government agreed to have its fishermen stay outside Iceland's 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusion zone without a specific agreement.

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The Last Ramming

Image:UTKALL.jpg On the evening of 6 May 1976, after the end of the third Cod War had already been decided, the captain of the HMS Falmouth decided to ram V/s Týr. Týr was trying to cut the nets of the trawler Carlisle, when the Falmouth at the speed of 22+ knots (41+ km/h) steamed into the ship, almost capsizing her. However, Týr didn't sink and managed to cut the nets of Carlisle anyway. This resulted in another similar ramming. At midnight, the Cod Wars ended, as British warships withdrew from the Icelandic exclusive economic area.

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Source of the name

It is believed by some that the name stems from a pun on the term 'Cold War' (with 'cod' reading so similarly to 'cold'), possibly via the British tabloid press - however, the Icelandic name for these 'conflicts' is Þorskastríðin, which can translate into Cod Wars in English. Which term came first is unknown.

The Cod Wars are also occasionally called the Landhelgisstríðin in Iceland, which can be translated as "The wars for the territorial waters." This name, however, is a reference to the Icelandic Coast Guard as its name in Icelandic directly translates as "Territorial waters Guard," since the wars were not for the territorial waters but for the expansion of an exclusive economic area. (Although the fighting was occasionally taken into Icelandic territorial waters.)

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