Editing Cod Wars (section)

=== 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>