The Cod Wars

The First Cod War

The first "war" occurred in 1958, when Britain was unable to prevent Iceland, from extending its
fishing limits, from 4 miles, to 12 miles, off Iceland's coast.

The Second Cod War

The second dispute was in 1972-1973, when Iceland

extended its limits to 50 miles. This conflict was concluded
with an agreement between the two countries that limited
British fishing, to certain areas, would be allowed inside
the 50-mile limit. In addition, Britain agreed that British
vessels could not catch more than 130,000 tons of fish
annually. This agreement was valid for two years and
expired on November 13 1975, when the third "Cod War"
started. 

The Third Cod War

Between November 1975, and June 1976, the cod, a common species of fish, brought two
NATO allies to the brink of war. Great Britain and Iceland confronted each other over Iceland
proclaiming its authority over the ocean, up to 200 miles from its coastline. The issue was the
amount of cod caught by the two countries' fishermen.

 
During this conflict, British trawlers had their nets cut by Icelandic
Coast Guard vessels and there were numerous rammings
between Icelandic ships and British trawlers and frigates. The
conflict caused Iceland to threaten to close the NATO base at
Keflavik, which would have imperilled the NATO ability to defend
the Atlantic from Soviet incursions. The picture left shows St.
Gerontius ramming the Icelandic Coast Guard Vessel Odin. Note
warp cutting gear towed from stern.
The conflict lasted for seven months. Britain did not recognize
Iceland's authority to extend its control to a 200-mile limit and
continued fishing in the disputed zone. Iceland employed six Coast
Guard ships and two Polish-built stern trawlers, converted for
Coast Guard work, to enforce her control over fishing rights. In
response, Great Britain deployed 22 frigates, although only six to
nine were deployed at any one time, seven supply ships, nine tug
boats, and three support ships, (Miranda, Othello, and Hausa), to
protect it's fishing trawlers. The Picture right shows hull trawler
'Lord Jellicoe' rammed by Icelandic Coast Guard Vessel Aegir
 Few shots were fired, but several ships were rammed during the
conflict and some damage was inflicted, with a few injuries
sustained. British frigates' bows were reinforced with wood
planking. Declining fish-stocks precipitated Iceland's action, and
as fishing was the main industry in Iceland, that was a major
threat. Both sides agreed the stocks were declining but could not
agree on the cause or a method of stabilizing the fish population.
The picture left shows Icelandic Coast Guard Vessel Aegir after a
clash with Lord Jellicoe.

The 200-mile economic exclusion zone was supported by various coastal states, including
Great Britain, at UN conferences on the Law of the Sea, although it was not law yet. Iceland
stated that it was merely enforcing what would soon be, an international law and that it was
following precedents set by other nations. Great Britain stated that although the international
system was arriving at an agreed 200-mile limit, Iceland had no right to unilaterally enforce the
limit.

After a particularly violent collision incident, the UN Security Council was consulted, but took no
action. The Nordic Council issued a statement of support for Iceland. NATO, and the USA,
became involved, due to the threatened closure of the NATO base at Keflavik. The US offered
to mediate, but it was NATO intercession that helped to end the conflict.

With mediation by the Secretary-General of NATO, Dr. Joseph

Luns, Iceland and Great Britain were able to come to an
agreement on June 2 1976. This agreement limited the British
to 24 trawlers, from a list of 93, allowed inside the 200-mile
limit at any one time. The amount of cod that Great Britain
could legally catch was limited to 50,000 tons annually. There
were four conservation areas that were completely closed to all
British fishing. In addition, Icelandic patrol vessels were
allowed to halt, and inspect, British trawlers suspected of
violating the agreement. The duration of the agreement was 6
months, after which Great Britain had no right to fish inside the
200-mile zone. Right, ICGV Odin being shadowed by HMS
Galatea

The British fishing industry, based on Icelandic fish, produced about 23.1 million pounds worth
of catch. The agreement with Iceland caused about 1,500 fishermen to become unemployed,
plus about 7,500 people on shore, also became unemployed.

http://www.britains-smallwars.com/RRGP/CodWar.htm