The document summarizes the Cod Wars, which were a series of disputes between Iceland and Britain from 1952-1976 over fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Iceland extended its territorial waters to protect fisheries from overfishing by British factory trawlers. This led to confrontations between Icelandic patrol boats and British trawlers and navy ships. Iceland also used Cold War alliances and threats to leave NATO as leverage in negotiations. Ultimately, Iceland achieved its goal of gaining exclusive fishing rights within a 200 mile economic zone, establishing itself as a model for sustainable fisheries management.

1. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 1
Cod Wars: International Relations, Commercial Fishing and the Cold War
Reuven Hoffman
History 311: History of Europe Since 1914
Alison Rose
4/26/16

2. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 2
Iceland is a country in the north Atlantic which has always depended on the sea for
survival. One saying goes, “Iceland is a rock in the middle of the sea surrounded by fish. Take
away the fish and what do you have? A rock in the middle of the sea.”1 From the 1950s through
the 1970s a series of disputes known as the Cod Wars took place off the coast of Iceland. Three
separate disputes arose because British factory trawlers sailed into Iceland’s waters to fish.
Iceland needed to protect itself from the British who didn’t respect their territorial rights. The
British didn’t have any right to fish in waters which Iceland claimed as its own. Iceland would
confront the British on the high seas and used diplomacy in order to achieve their goals.
Iceland’s actions were justified because they took rational measures to protect their national
interests.
The demand for fish increased significantly after World War II. European countries
needed to restructure their fishing industries. New technology was required to meet postwar
demands. The factory trawler was a larger more efficient scale of existing technology. Factory
trawlers are fishing vessels capable of sailing long distances, catching large quantities of fish
and processing the catch on board. Britain was the first country to use the factory trawler,
which first went into service between 1951 and 1952. Dockside processors in the fishing
industry were no longer required. Certain people in the fisheries sector were unhappy about
being displaced from work. Factory trawlers transformed the fishing industry from a localized
industry into a globalized one. With the factory trawler Britain was able to fish seas around the
world.2
1 Seth Macinko said this quote in his World Fisheries class(MAF 330).
2 Standal,Dag "The Riseand fall of Factory Trawlers:An Eclectic Approach." MarinePolicy 32,no. 3 (September 11,
2007)

3. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 3
The first dispute about Iceland’s territorial limits lasted from 1952 to 1956. Britain had
overfished their coastal fisheries forcing them to look elsewhere for fish. Britain began
targeting Iceland’s waters because they were rich with commercially valuable species such as
cod, haddock and flatfish. Prior to 1952 Iceland’s coastal jurisdiction extended from the shore
to three miles out to sea. This exclusive jurisdiction is referred to as an exclusive economic zone
which is defined by NOAA as, “… the zone where the U.S. and other coastal nations have
jurisdiction over natural resources.”3 British factory trawlers could sail within three miles of
Iceland’s coast and be considered in international waters. Factory trawlers can harvest large
volumes of fish in one trip. Iceland realized foreign fishing vessels were a threat to their
fisheries and extended their jurisdiction to four miles. Britain protested Iceland’s actions by
fishing within four miles of Iceland’s coast.4
The Icelandic coast guard expelled fishing vessels within four miles of Iceland. In 1958
Iceland extended their jurisdiction from four miles to 12 miles. This was done to protect
Iceland’s fisheries from being overharvested by British trawlers. By this time period many
countries around the world had claimed exclusive jurisdiction to 200 miles. Iceland eventually
wanted to have a 200 mile exclusive economic zone. Britain’s fishing fleet would suffer
economically if they lost access to Iceland’s fishing grounds. According to the British their
trawler fleet’s catch declined significantly when they couldn’t fish within 12 miles of Iceland.5
3 ." Oceanservice.noaa.gov.
4 Guðmundur, Guðmundsson. "The Cod War and the Cold War."Scandinavian Journal of History 31,no. 2 (June 1,
2006): 97-118.Accessed April 5th, 2016
5 Your Fish At Stake (1960).Produced by British Pathe. Youtube.com. April 13, 2014

4. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 4
Britain contested Iceland’s territorial limits by fishing within the 12 mile zone. In order
to protect British trawler fleets the Royal Navy got involved. Iceland’s coast guard was much
smaller than the Royal Navy yet they still threatened to impound vessels and arrest crews.
Vessels on both sides would ram into each other as a show of force even though Britain was
stronger than Iceland. In 1961 Britain accepted Iceland’s exclusive economic zone. After the
first Cod War Britain and Iceland agreed to settle future disputes in the International Court of
Justice. The first Cod War demonstrated that Iceland would take measures it saw necessary to
protect its fisheries from being overharvested.6
During the first Cod War Britain boycotted fish from Iceland forcing them to find new
markets. The Soviet Union was willing to buy Iceland’s fish in exchange for building supplies.
This would strengthen the Soviet Union which the West, such as Britain, saw as a threat. Iceland
was a member of NATO yet they played both sides of the fence; Iceland’s biggest trading
partners were America and the Soviet Union. In 1958 Iceland threatened to leave NATO if
Britain sent the Royal Navy into Iceland’s waters. In 1958 the boycott between Iceland and
Britain was lifted and the two resumed trade. In order to get the British to comply with their
demands, Iceland had to play cold war alliances against Britain. Iceland played sides in the cold
war because Britain wouldn’t listen to them when they followed international law for a
legitimate purpose.7
The second Cod War occurred in 1972. Iceland extended its exclusive economic zone
from 12 miles to 50 miles. Britain was not happy about this change and ignored Iceland. Once
6 "The Cod Wars."Britishseafishing.co.uk
7 Guðmundur, Guðmundsson,. "The Cod War and the Cold War."Scandinavian Journal of History 31,no. 2 (June 1,
2006): 97-118

5. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 5
again Iceland sent out its coast guard to expel British fishing vessels. This time Iceland
employed a new technique to deter the British. Icelandic coast guard vessels would cut the nets
of British fishing trawlers so that their catch would be lost. The British Royal Navy again sent in
vessels to protect their fishing trawlers. Throughout the conflict intentional collisions
continued, tensions escalated and Iceland shot rifles and non-explosive shells at the British.
Iceland showed that it was taking new steps to protect itself. In 1973 Britain and Iceland were
able to reach a compromise that gave both sides what they wanted: British vessels could fish
within 50 miles of Iceland so long as they didn’t exceed a quota of 130,000 tons. The agreement
between Britain and Iceland only lasted for two years. The agreement showed both sides were
willing to compromise in order to achieve a temporary peace.8
Cold war tensions also rose as Iceland took diplomatic action against Britain. Britain
would use spy planes to play cat and mouse with the Icelandic coast guard. In response Iceland
didn’t allow British planes into their airspace. Some other diplomatic measures to hurt the
British were banning British ships from their ports, refusing to service British planes and
denying the British access to their military bases. Since Britain was a member of NATO, Iceland
tried using American diplomacy as leverage; however, America didn’t see this dispute as their
problem and didn’t get involved. After Iceland threatened to leave NATO, Britain was willing to
negotiate. Iceland took the right diplomatic actions to achieve their goal.9
After the agreement from the second Cod War expired in 1975 a third and final dispute
arose. This time Iceland extended its exclusive economic zone out to 200 miles. Britain thought
8 "The Cod Wars."Britishseafishing.co.uk.
9 Guðmundur, Guðmundsson,. "The Cod War and the Cold War."Scandinavian Journal of History 31,no. 2 (June 1,
2006): 97-118

6. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 6
Iceland was acting too quickly, Iceland had been waiting many years to implement the 200 mile
zone. The British still didn’t want to accept Iceland’s territorial limits. Britain and Iceland would
use the same respective tactics as ones used in previous Cod Wars. This conflict saw 55
incidents where vessels on both sides would intentionally collide. One major flaw was that
British frigates (boats designed for anti-submarine warfare and open sea combat) weren’t
designed to ram into other boats. Britain resorted to fitting their frigates with armor to better
handle impact damage. Iceland was willing to purchase frigates from the Soviet Union so they
could fight the Royal Navy in combat. Although Iceland never went through with buying the
frigates, it showed they weren’t willing to back down. In 1976 Britain decided to stop fishing
within 200 miles of Iceland for good. Iceland achieved its goal which was to obtain the 200 mile
exclusive economic zone and take national ownership of its fisheries.10
In the final dispute Iceland would take actions to say enough was enough. Iceland was
unhappy its NATO allies wouldn’t help them. The United States Air Force had a base in Keflavik
which Iceland threatened to shut down and leave NATO. Without the base western countries
would have a major strategic disadvantage against the Soviet Union. If there was an attack the
Keflavik base was within striking distance of the Soviet Union. There was a gap in Atlantic
airspace which would have given the Soviets an advantage. Since Britain was also a NATO
country they would be more vulnerable if there ever was an attack. Iceland’s actions were
reasonable because they realized how important protection from the Soviet Union was to the
10 Guðmundur, Guðmundsson,. "The Cod War and the Cold War."Scandinavian Journal of History 31,no. 2 (June 1,
2006): 97-118

7. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 7
British. To Britain the cold war took priority over where they could and couldn’t fish, so the
British chose to accept Iceland’s territorial limits over losing a vital strategic asset.11
Britain’s fishing industry changed as a result of the Cod Wars. Without access to
Iceland’s abundant fishing grounds many British and Scottish fishing ports closed. Fishermen
were put out of work because not enough fish were coming in. Distant water fishing fleets were
no longer economically viable. Fishing fleets that survived were forced to downsize their
operations. Some fishermen would find work in other sectors such as scientific research,
targeting new fisheries and other forms of employment.12 Iceland simply couldn’t allow the
British unrestricted access to their fisheries because they depended so much on those fisheries
for survival. As a result of Iceland’s proactive approach to fisheries management they are now
considered a model for sustainability.13
Today Iceland’s cod fishing industry has received Marine Stewardship Council
certification. In order to receive MSC certification a fishery must demonstrate good
management techniques. Iceland harvests their cod stocks using a variety of fishing methods
and the newest technology. One example is gillnet fisheries which must have large mesh sizes
to reduce bycatch by only harvesting large mature fish, while not catching smaller less mature
individuals. Another example is Danish seiners that use a net which is deployed and
immediately hauled back to the boat so the anchor doesn’t need to be deployed which can
damage the benthic habitat. Finally jigging is used by small boats in coastal waters which only
11 The Cod Wars."Britishseafishing.co.uk.
12 Byrne, J. "After the Trawl:Memory and Afterlife in the Wake of Hulls Distant-water FishingIndustry."
International Journal of MaritimeHistory 27,no. 4 (2015): 816-22
13 Alter, Bonnie. "Iceland Is the Success Story of SustainableFishing."Treehugger, June 3, 2009

8. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 8
catch a few fish at a time depending on how many hooks are used. Also Iceland uses a quota
system which assigns each boat a limit as to how many fish they can catch.14 When the British
came into Iceland’s waters during the Cod Wars they neglected the environment and
sustainability of the fishery. Ever since Iceland took control of their fisheries they have
implemented responsible management techniques which ensure long term productivity. If
Iceland hadn’t taken the actions they did then Britain would have overfished Iceland’s
abundant waters.
For hundreds of years foreign fishing boats have targeted Iceland’s rich fishing grounds.
As fishing technology advanced Iceland’s fisheries were in jeopardy of being overharvested.
Iceland took a proactive approach when they extended their jurisdiction, they simply couldn’t
wait for their fisheries to be overharvested. Many countries have dealt with overfishing after it
occurred and they are still dealing with serious consequences. If Britain had better managed its
fisheries this conflict could have been avoided in the first place. Just because the Britain
overfished their waters they didn’t have the right to do the same to Iceland. During the Cod
Wars Iceland took rational and reasonable measures to protect a resource which was essential
to their survival.
14 "ISF Iceland Cod." Www.msc.org. March 21, 2016

9. Cod Wars: International Relations,Commercial Fishingandthe ColdWar ReuvenHoffman 9
References
Alter, Bonnie. "Iceland Is the Success Story of Sustainable Fishing." Treehugger, June 3, 2009.
Accessed April 5th, 2016
Byrne, J. "After the Trawl: Memory and Afterlife in the Wake of Hulls Distant-water Fishing
Industry." International Journal of Maritime History 27, no. 4 (2015): 816-22. Accessed
April 5, 2016
Guðmundur, Guðmundsson. "The Cod War and the Cold War." Scandinavian Journal of History
31, no. 2 (June 1, 2006): 97-118. Accessed April 5th, 2016
"ISF Iceland Cod." Www.msc.org. March 21, 2016. Accessed April 5, 2016.
Standal, Dag. "The Rise and fall of Factory Trawlers: An Eclectic Approach." Marine Policy 32,
no. 3 (September 11, 2007): 326-32. Accessed April 5th, 2016
"The Cod Wars." Britishseafishing.co.uk. Accessed April 5th, 2016.
What Is the EEZ?" Oceanservice.noaa.gov. December 8, 2014. Accessed April 5, 2016.
Your Fish At Stake (1960). Produced by British Pathe. Youtube.com. April 13, 2014. Accessed
April 5, 2016.