Editing Cod Wars (section)

==Background==
[[File:Maritime Zones under International Law.png|right|thumb|upright 1.5|Sea areas, in [[international law]], did not become universally recognised until the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] of 1982.]]
Seafood has for centuries been a staple in the diet of inhabitants of the British Isles, Iceland and other [[Nordic countries]], which are surrounded by some of the world's richest fisheries.<ref name="Conversation piece">{{cite news|last1=Forse|first1=Andy|last2=Drakeford|first2=Ben|last3=Potts|first3=Jonathan|date=25 March 2019|title=Fish fights: Britain has a long history of trading away access to coastal waters|newspaper=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|url=http://theconversation.com/fish-fights-britain-has-a-long-history-of-trading-away-access-to-coastal-waters-112988|access-date=5 March 2020|archive-date=24 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024132115/http://theconversation.com/fish-fights-britain-has-a-long-history-of-trading-away-access-to-coastal-waters-112988|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Viking activity in the British Isles|Danish and Norse raiders]] came to Britain in the ninth century bringing one fish species in particular, the [[Atlantic cod#Northeast Atlantic cod|North Sea cod]], into the national diet. Other [[Whitefish (fisheries term)|whitefish]] like [[halibut]], [[hake]] and [[pollock]] also became popular.<ref name="FT cod story">{{cite news|last=Chaffin|first=Joshua|date=18 July 2017|title=North Sea cod completes long journey back to sustainability|newspaper=[[Financial Times]]|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c0da63a0-6bc5-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/c0da63a0-6bc5-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=4 March 2020}}</ref>

===Until 1949===
By the end of the 14th century, fishing boats from the east coast of England, then as now home to most of the English fishing fleet, were sailing to Icelandic waters in search of these catches; their landings grew so abundant as to cause political friction between England and [[Denmark]], who ruled Iceland at the time. The Danish [[Eric of Pomerania|King Eric]] banned all Icelandic trade with England in 1414 and complained to his English counterpart, [[Henry V of England|Henry V]], about [[Overfishing|the depletion of fishing stocks]] off the island. Restrictions on British fishing passed by Parliament were generally ignored and unenforced, leading to violence and the [[Anglo-Hanseatic War|Anglo-Hanseatic War (1469–1474)]]. Diplomats resolved these disputes through agreements that allowed British ships to fish Icelandic waters with seven-year licences, a provision that was struck from the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1474)|Treaty of Utrecht]] when it was presented to the Icelandic [[Althing]] for [[ratification]] in 1474.<ref name="Medieval fishiing">{{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Mark|url=https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/106203799/The_character_of_commercial_fishing_in_Icelandic_waters_in_the_fifteenth_century.pdf|title=Cod and Herring: The Archaeology and History of Medieval Sea Fishing|date=2016|publisher=[[Oxbow Books]]|isbn=9781785702396|editor1-last=Barrett|editor1-first=James Harold|location=Oxford|pages=80–90|chapter=8: The character of commercial fishing in Icelandic waters in the fifteenth century|access-date=4 March 2020|editor2-last=Orton|editor2-first=David C.|archive-date=23 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923112359/https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/106203799/The_character_of_commercial_fishing_in_Icelandic_waters_in_the_fifteenth_century.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This started a centuries-long series of intermittent disputes between the two countries.<ref name="FishFights2019" /> From the early 16th century onward, English sailors and fishermen were a major presence in the waters off Iceland.<ref name="Þorsteinsson1976">{{Cite book|last=Þorsteinsson|first=Björn|title=Tíu þorskastríð 1415–1976|year=1976}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Thór|first=Jón Th.|title=British trawlers and Iceland: 1919–1976|year=1995|publisher=University of Gothenburg|page=9}}</ref>

With the increases in range of fishing that were enabled by [[steam engine|steam power]] in the late 19th century, boat owners and skippers felt pressure to exploit new grounds. Their large catches in Icelandic waters attracted more regular voyages across the [[North Atlantic]]. In 1893, the [[Danish government]], which then governed Iceland and the [[Faroe Islands]], claimed a fishing limit of {{convert|50|nmi|km|abbr=on}} around their shores. British trawler owners disputed the claim and continued to send their ships to the waters near Iceland. The British government did not recognise the Danish claim on the grounds that setting such a precedent would lead to similar claims by the nations around the [[North Sea]], which would damage the British fishing industry.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}}

In 1896, the United Kingdom made an agreement with Denmark for British vessels to use any Icelandic port for shelter if they stowed their gear and trawl nets. In return, British vessels were not to fish in [[Faxa Bay]] east of a line from Ílunýpa, a promontory near [[Keflavík]] to Þormóðssker ([https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?params=64.4334_N_-22.3092_E_ 43.43° N, 22.30° W]).{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}

With many British trawlers being charged and fined by Danish gunboats for fishing illegally within the {{convert|13|nmi|km|abbr=on|0}} limit, which the British government refused to recognise, the [[British press]] began to enquire why the Danish action against British interests was allowed to continue without intervention by the [[Royal Navy]]. The British made a show of naval force ([[gunboat diplomacy]]) in 1896 and 1897.<ref name="auto" />

In April 1899, the steam trawler ''Caspian'' was fishing off the Faroe Islands when a Danish [[gunboat]] tried to arrest her for allegedly fishing illegally inside the limits. The trawler refused to stop and was fired upon first with blank shells and then with live ammunition. Eventually, the trawler was caught, but before the skipper, Charles Henry Johnson, left his ship to go aboard the Danish gunboat, he ordered the mate to make a dash for it after he went on to the Danish ship. The ''Caspian'' set off at full speed. The gunboat fired several shots at the unarmed boat but could not catch up with the trawler, which returned, heavily damaged, to [[Grimsby]], [[England]]. On board the Danish gunboat, the skipper of the ''Caspian'' was lashed to the mast. A court held at [[Thorshavn]] convicted him on several counts including [[illegal fishing]] and attempted assault, and he was jailed for 30 days.<ref>Bale, B. (2010), ''Memories of the: Lincolnshire Fishing Industry'', Berkshire: Countryside Books, p. 35.</ref>

The 'Anglo-Danish Territorial Waters Agreement' of 1901 set a {{convert|3|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}} territorial waters limit, measured narrowly, around each party's coastlines: this applied to Iceland as (at the time) part of Denmark and had a term of 50 years.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|title = How 'cod war' came: the origins of the Anglo-Icelandic fisheries dispute, 1958–61*|journal = Historical Research|date = 1 November 2004|issn = 1468-2281|pages = 543–574|volume = 77|issue = 198|doi = 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2004.00222.x|first = Gudni Thorlacius|last = Jóhannesson}}</ref><ref name = Cabinet/>

The Icelandic fisheries grew in importance for the British fishing industry around the end of the 19th century.<ref name="auto"/> The reduction in fishing activity brought about by the hostilities of the [[First World War]] effectively ended the dispute for a time.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}}

While data is incomplete for the prewar period, one historian argues that the Icelandic fishing grounds were 'very important' to the British fishing industry as a whole.<ref>{{Cite book|title = British Trawlers and Iceland: 1919–1976|last = Thór|first = Jón Th.|year = 1995|pages = 48–50}}</ref> Data from 1919 to 1938 showed a significant increase in the British total catches in Icelandic waters.<ref>{{Cite book|title = British Trawlers and Iceland: 1919–1976|last = Thór|year = 1995|pages = 68, 79}}</ref> The British catches in Iceland were more than twice the combined catches of all other grounds of the British distant water fleet.<ref>{{Cite book|title = British Trawlers and Iceland: 1919–1976|last = Thór|year = 1995|page = 87}}</ref> Icelanders grew increasingly dismayed at the British presence.<ref>{{Cite book|title = British Trawlers and Iceland: 1919–1976|last = Thór|year = 1995|pages = 91–107}}</ref>

=== 1949–1958 ===
In October 1949, Iceland initiated the two-year abrogation process of the agreement made between Denmark and the United Kingdom in 1901. The fishery limits to the north of Iceland were extended to {{convert|4|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}}. However, since the British trawling fleet did not use those grounds, the northern extension was not a source of significant contention between the two states. Initially planning to extend the rest of its fishery limits by the end of the two-year abrogation period, Iceland chose to postpone its extension to wait for the outcome of the [[fisheries case|UK–Norway fisheries case]] in the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ), which was decided in December 1951.

Icelanders were satisfied with the ICJ ruling, as they believed that Iceland's preferred extensions were similar to those afforded to Norway in the ICJ ruling. The UK and Iceland tried to negotiate a solution but were unable to reach agreement. The Icelandic government declared, on 19 March 1952, its intention to extend its fishery limits on 15 May 1952.<ref name="Jóhannnesson2007" />

Iceland and the United Kingdom were involved in a dispute from May 1952 to November 1956 over Iceland's unilateral extension of its fishery limits from {{convert|3|to|4|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}}. Unlike in the Cod Wars, the Royal Navy was never sent into Icelandic waters. The British trawling industry, however, implemented costly sanctions on Iceland by imposing a landing ban on Icelandic fish in British ports.<ref name="Jóhannnesson2007">{{Cite book|title = Troubled Waters|last = Jóhannnesson|first = Guðni Th.|publisher = NAFHA|year = 2007}}</ref><ref name="Guðmundsson2006">{{Cite journal|title = The Cod and the Cold War|last = Guðmundsson|first = Guðmundur J.|date = 2006|journal = Scandinavian Journal of History|volume = 31|issue = 2|pages = 97–118|doi = 10.1080/03468750600604184|s2cid = 143956818}}</ref> The landing ban was a major blow to the Icelandic fishing industry (the UK was Iceland's largest export market for fish) and caused consternation among Icelandic statesmen.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Troubled Waters|last = Jóhannesson|first = Guðni Th.|year = 2007|page = 104}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Utanríkisþjónusta Íslands og utanríkismál: Sögulegt Yfirlit 1.|last = Thorsteinsson|first = Pétur|year = 1992|page = 440}}</ref> The two sides decided to refer one part of the Icelandic extension to the ICJ in early 1953: the controversial Faxa Bay delimitation.<ref name="Jóhannnesson2007" />

In May 1953, businessman [[George Dawson (businessman)|George Dawson]] signed an agreement with the Icelandic trawler owners to buy fish landed in Britain. Seven landings were made but the merchants who bought from Dawson were blacklisted and he was unable to distribute the fish effectively himself.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Jóhannesson |first=Gudni Thorlacius |date=2004 |title=Troubled Waters. Cod War, Fishing Disputes, and Britain's Fight for the Freedom of the High Seas, 1948–1964 |chapter=Any Port in a Storm. The Failure of Economic Coercion, 1953–54 |pages=91–92 |publisher=Queen Mary, University of London |chapter-url=http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/1834 |access-date=30 December 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207190537/https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/1834 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Cold War]] politics proved favourable for Iceland, as the [[Soviet Union]], seeking influence in Iceland, stepped in to purchase Icelandic fish. The [[United States]], fearing greater Soviet influence in Iceland, also did so and persuaded [[Spain]] and [[Italy]] to do likewise.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Í eldlínu kalda stríðsins|last = Ingimundarson|first = Valur|year = 1996|page = 288}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

Soviet and American involvement resulted in weakening the punitive effects of the British landing ban. Some scholars refer to the dispute of 1952 to 1956 as one of the Cod Wars, as the object of the dispute and its costs and risks were all similar to those in the other three Cod Wars.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Þorskastríð og fjöldi þeirra|last = Þorsteinsson|first = Björn|date = 1983|journal = Saga}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Tíunda þorskastríðið 1975–1976|last = Jónsson|first = Björn|date = 1981|journal = Saga}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |title = Why Did the Cod Wars Occur and Why Did Iceland Win Them? A Test of Four Theories |publication-date = 4 May 2015 |url = https://skemman.is/handle/1946/20916?locale=en |hdl = 1946/20916 |date = June 2015 |type = Master's |last1 = Steinsson |first1 = Sverrir |access-date = 14 February 2022 |archive-date = 14 February 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220214131758/https://skemman.is/handle/1946/20916?locale=en |url-status = live }}</ref>

Just as the other Cod Wars, the dispute ended with Iceland achieving its aims, as the Icelandic {{convert|4|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}} fishery limits were recognized by the United Kingdom, following a decision by the [[OECD|Organisation of European Economic Co-operation]] in 1956.<ref name="Jóhannnesson2007" />

Two years later, in 1958, the [[United Nations]] convened the first [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea#UNCLOS I|International Conference on the Law of the Sea]], which was attended by 86 states.<ref>{{cite web|title=United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958|url=http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1958/lawofthesea-1958.html|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 November 2015|archive-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114124141/http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1958/lawofthesea-1958.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Several countries sought to extend the limits of their territorial waters to {{convert|12|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}}, but the conference did not reach any firm conclusions.<ref name="NationalArchives">*{{cite web|title = The Cod Wars|url = http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/cod-wars.htm|publisher = The National Archives|access-date = 4 November 2015|postscript = none|archive-date = 16 November 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171116074621/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/cod-wars.htm|url-status = live}}
*{{cite web|title=Icy fishing: UK and Iceland fish stock disputes|url=http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06511/SN06511.pdf|publisher=House of Commons Library|access-date=27 February 2016|date=19 December 2012|page=2|archive-date=8 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308101008/http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06511/SN06511.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UN1998">{{cite web|title=The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A historical perspective)|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 November 2015|date=1998|archive-date=15 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915020937/https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_historical_perspective.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>