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The news that four Royal Navy patrol boats will be ready from 1 January to help protect UK fishing waters in the event of a no-deal Brexit has evoked memories of the ‘cod wars’, a battle by the fishing grounds off the coast of Iceland that lasted almost 20 years. until it was resolved in the mid-1970s.
The first cod war, a phrase coined by Fleet Street, began in September 1958, when Iceland, concerned about overfishing and its impact on a cornerstone of its economy, extended its fishing limit from four to 12 nautical miles from its coast. .
Britain refused to recognize the unilateral declaration and deployed three frigates and an ocean minesweeper to protect British trawlers. They lined up against the Icelandic navy, which consisted of eight small Coast Guard patrol boats in total, the largest being the 693-ton Thor. On September 1, 1958, the then Manchester Guardian reported: “According to Icelandic sources, they intend to fire at the bridge of any trawler within the twelve mile limit that does not stop after a shot through the bow.” .
Nine days later, the newspaper carried an account by skipper Jim Crockwell, of how a group of Thor had boarded his trawler, the Northern Foam.
“We were fishing in the protected area known as Spearmint II,” he said. And we were in a thick fog. Visibility was nil. I could see that there were two boats approaching on the radar screen, and I assumed they were other boats fishing in the area. They were going roughly the same speed as us, but in the opposite direction. Suddenly Thor appeared out of the fog on our port side and Maria-Julia appeared on our starboard side. The Thor was positioned on our port bow. “
Crockwell said the officer in charge of the boarding party advised him to head for the Icelandic gunboat, but he refused. Another demanded to see his papers, but the boss told him: “Go jump into the ocean and get lost.” Crockwell and his crew were eventually saved by the intervention of HMS Eastbourne.
Tensions reignited in 1973 when Iceland expanded its exclusive fishing zone to 50 miles. Royal Navy frigates were again deployed to protest against British trawlers, the British embassy in Reykjavik was stoned and a Grimsby trawler was shot.
Ramming and cutting incidents increased again in 1976, when the area was increased to 200 miles, an extension backed by the European Community, the forerunner of the EU. However, on June 1 of that year, following the NATO-mediated sessions, an agreement was reached that Britain would be allowed to keep 24 trawlers within the 200-mile zone as long as their catch was limited to 50,000 tonnes. .
As Sir Alan West, former admiral and chief of naval staff, said of current plans for the Royal Navy’s involvement: “There is no question that if you are a fisherman who has fished there for years, you are, like our fishermen, Quite stormy people, and they give you a bit of a punch and you might need marines and things like that. “
The effects of the 1976 agreement were to have a devastating impact on British trawlers fishing in Arctic waters, most of whom were sacked. The government announced in 2000 that those affected and their families would share a £ 25 million compensation package.
