Iceland and Britain The Cod Wars

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Iceland and BritainThe Cod Wars

• Choo Jie Fu (05)
• Yeo Zheng Hang (21)

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Geopolitical Background

• Britain
• Constitutional monarchy
• Executive power exercised on behalf of the Queen
  by PM and other cabinet ministers
• Cabinet (including PM) other ministers Her
  Majesty's Government
• Relies on customs and separate pieces of
  constitutional law
• Monarch is Head of State, holds all executive
  power
• PM is the head of government

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Geopolitical Background

• Iceland
• Constitutional republic
• Executive branch consists of
• Chief-of-State, the President, elected for
  four-year term
• Head of government, the Prime Minister
• The Cabinet, picked by the prime minister and
  approved by parliament
• Scandinavian-type economy
• Capitalist
• Extensive welfare system
• Low unemployment
• Remarkably even distribution of income
• Geothermal energy is only abundant natural
  resource
• Highly dependent on fishing industry for export
  earnings
• Economy sensitive to fish stocks and prices
• Opposed to EU membership, afraid of losing
  control over fishing resources

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Causes of Conflict

• Iceland depends on its fishing industry more than
  any other state in the world
• Few natural resources, little agricultural
  potential, no mining interests
• Fish and fish products account for 89.71 of
  Iceland's total export in each year during the
  period 1881-1976

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Causes of Conflict

• Ensure survival of fish in the area
• Faroe Islands, Belgium, West Germany, and
  especially Great Britain, were causing an
  over-exploitation of the fish stocks around
  Iceland
• Cod population decreased, catch reduced
• Fear that cod may end up like population of
  herring, which declined from 8.5 million in 1958,
  to almost nothing in 1970
• Iceland wanted to regulate fishing in the area,
  most ideas and propositions were ignored
• Iceland decided to take matters into its own
  hands, extending the fishing limit gradually,
  until it hit 200miles after the third cod war

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Causes of Conflict

• Only Britain opposed this fishing limit, as shown
  by the 3 cod wars
• Britain did no believe over-fishing was the
  cause, nor would the limit solve the problem
• Britain felt that Iceland had no right to enforce
  these limits on its own

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Summary of Conflict

• First Cod War (1958)
• Iceland extended its fishing limits
• From 4 nautical miles (7 km)
• To 12 miles (19 km) off Iceland's coast
• Further excluded British trawlers from rich
  fishing grounds
• Meeting of NATO foreign ministers
• British and Icelandic representatives refused to
  change their respective positions

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Summary of Conflict

• First Cod War (1958)
• Britain dared not attack Iceland
• US-Icelandic agreement US responsible for
  Icelands defence
• Sent the Royal Navy to the disputed waters
• Protect British trawlers from harassment by
  Icelandic gunboats
• Iceland declared that both Icelands membership
  in NATO and the American presence on the island
  was under threat
• Paul-Henri Spaak, NATOs secretary general was
  angry at this blackmail on the part of small
  countries

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Summary of Conflict

• First Cod War (1958)
• Sir Patrick Reilly (British diplomat who
  negotiated the settlement)
• We were dealing with skillful and at times
  unscrupulous negotiators, who made good use of
  what was in fact political blackmail. . . . If we
  resumed naval protection, this Icelandic
  government would call for American support, which
  would be refused. They would then turn to the
  Russians, would leave NATO, denounce their
  Defence Agreement with the U.S. and demand the
  removal of the American Base, all of which would
  be a very severe setback for the West.
• Britain forced to accept limit

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Summary of Conflict

• Second Cod War (1972 to 1973)
• Iceland extended its limits to 50 miles (80 km)
• Iceland threatenedto fight Britain to the end
• Henry Kissinger (national security adviser in the
  Richard Nixon administration)
• Admired the turbulent tiny country threatening
  to make war against a nation 250 times its size
  and to leave NATO (without which it would be
  defenseless).
• Agreement between the 2 countries
• Bound British fishing to certain areas inside the
  50 mile (80 km) limit
• British trawlers annual catch limited to
  130,000 tons
• Agreement expired in November, 1975
• Led to Third Cod War

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Summary of Conflict

• Third Cod War (1975)
• Iceland declared that ocean up to 200 miles (370
  km) from its coast fell under Icelandic authority
• Britain did not recognize this exclusion zone
• British fishermens 'incursion' into the disputed
  zone
• British fishing trawlers have their nets cut by
  the Icelandic Coast Guard
• Iceland 6 Coast Guard vessels and 2 Polish-built
  stern trawlers (converted into Coast Guard
  vessels)
• To enforce Icelandic control over fishing rights
• UK 22 frigates, 7 supply ships, 9 tug-boats, 3
  support ships
• To protect its fishing trawlers

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Summary of Conflict

• Third Cod War (1975)
• Early 1976 Iceland broke off diplomatic
  relations with London
• Icelandic citizens blocked roads to U.S. radar
  stations
• Looked ready to blow up radar masts unless the
  aggression by Britain, a supposed ally in
  NATO, immediately ceased

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Effects of Conflict

• USA offered to mediate
• NATO intercession helped to end the conflict
• June 2 1976
• Maximum of 24 British trawlers allowed inside the
  200-mile limit
• Annual cod catch limited to 50,000 tons

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Effects of Conflict UK

• unemployment for 1,500 fishermen 7,500 onshore
  workers
• livelihoods were destroyed
• devastating effect on thousands of Scottish
  fishermen who had used the waters
• fishing families in the north east of Scotland
  were affected

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Effects of Conflict UK

• Compensation from UK government
• Anybody who had continued fishing after 1979 was
  denied compensation
• Later decided to be unjust, as many were unable
  to find full time jobs
• Discrimination between payments to employers and
  workers

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Effects of Conflict UK

• 1970s
• Trawler owners entitled to compensation
• Part time and casual workers not entitled
• Fishermen (considered casuals by government)
  who worked on the boats were also not entitled

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Effects of Conflict UK

• 1993 to 1995
• 14m in ex-gratia payments made to 8,000 former
  fishermen, including some trawlermen
• 2000
• Fishermen could receive up to 20,000
• If they proved that they had suffered during the
  Cod Wars
• Criticised for discriminating against genuine
  claimants

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Effects of Conflict UK

• July 2001
• appeal made at Westminster
• MPs asked Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia
  Hewitt to speed up compensation
• October 2001
• 1300 trawlermen receive a total of 190m from
  government
• Extended to help people who continued fishing
  outside the Icelandic exclusion zone
• Qualifiers 50 to 80 years of age
• Receive up to 20,000 each
• Those who received ex-gratia payment would have
  it deducted from current extra compensation

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Effects of Conflict - Iceland

• Greatly benefited from the wars
• 200 mile fishing limit
• Icelands relations with its Western allies eased
• UK
• USA

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In Summary

• Cause of Conflict
• Scarcity of resource (cod)
• Own benefit
• Summary of Conflict
• 3 Cod Wars in total
• Iceland repeatedly extended limits
• Britain refused to accept the limits
• Tension between Iceland and Western allies
• Effects of Conflict
• Britain accepted Icelands limits
• Livelihood of British fishermen destroyed
• For the sake of bilateral relationship
• British government had to compensate fishermen
• Iceland, on the other hand, benefited greatly
  from it

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Bibliography

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_War
• http//www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4285498-105
  193,00.html
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/scotland/1444487.stm
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/fishing/b
  ackground_decline.shtml
• http//www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/ice/ice-national-h
  istory.htm
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Unite
  d_Kingdom
• http//www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2004/SummerAu
  tumn/art8-sa04.htm

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