Cod Wars begin as fishermen defy ban and go to work under armed guard

The Sunday Post reported on what would become known as the Cod Wars, on August 24, 1958.

The disputes were over territorial fishing rights in the North Atlantic and were mainly fought between the UK and Iceland. Iceland had unilaterally declared a 12-mile exclusion zone around the island for foreign fishing vessels.

“A 200-strong fleet of British trawlers – escorted by armed Fishery

Protection vessels – is this weekend steaming towards Iceland. It’s certain they will defy the island’s ban on foreign fishing within 12 miles of her coast.

“As they sail north, last-minute moves are going on to prevent a head-on clash on September 1 when the ban comes into force.

“In Paris, experts from interested Nato countries were exploring an alternative which would give Iceland more fish

without fully implementing her ban, which she claims was made to order to conserve fish.”

The Cod Wars spanned 20 years and were complicated by Iceland’s threat of withdrawal from Nato, which would have deprived the alliance of strategic naval bases in the North Atlantic and allowed Cold War enemies Russia to dominate the area. Indeed, in each of the Cod Wars confrontations, Iceland’s demands were largely met.