The Cod Wars: When Iceland & The UK Fought Over North Atlantic Fishing Rights

The humble fish and chips. It’s still not entirely clear how or even when this quaint but filling little meal became the official dish of the people of the British Isles but what is known is that during the first half of the 20th century it had become as quintessentially British as cricket and the Royal family. One of the most common types of fish to be included in the meal was cod from the North Sea and British fishing trawlers scoured the region between Scotland and Iceland in pursuit of this seemingly unlimited resource of the sea. However, by the middle of the 20th century it would be the pursuit of this innocuous fish that would lead to a series of diplomatic crises and at times confrontations on the stormy, strategically important northern waters that if weren’t managed properly, threatened to escalate out of control and possibly even drag in the superpowers. 

It is a David and Goliath story where a small fleet of Icelandic Coast Guard patrol boats squared up to the mighty Royal Navy who found their hands tied by regulations and changing attitudes and laws that proved that sometimes the pen really is mightier than the sword. It was a series of phoney wars where pride, principle, the rule of law and yes fish resulted in piracy, deliberate ramming of ships and even the firing of guns at one another. And all this was taking place in a strategically vital part of the world caught up in the nuclear brinksmanship of the Cold War. Today, we are going to examine the Cod Wars between Iceland and the United Kingdom and examine how they impacted the nations involved and beyond. Welcome to Wars of the World.