Þorskastríðin The Cod Wars
Salient Characteristics of the Cod Wars • Asymmetric War – large vs. small state • NATO Alliance Partners – Iceland vs. UK • Most major international bodies involved • Resource War – heart of Iceland’s economy • Significant changes to Law of the Sea
The ‘Saga’ of Iceland • Geography • History • Fish • Independence
Eyjafjalljökull
Alþing Assembly at Þingvellir
Ravages of nature
The “Blessed War”
Iceland’s Fishing grounds
Cod Fishing areas
Icelandic fisherman ca. 1925
‘Processing’ a fish catch (1900 s-1980 s)
Iceland’s “military” Unarmed Cost Guard ships
Iceland’s Independence Þingvellir, June 17, 1944
Iceland Joins NATO, 1949
Iceland’s Political Divide • Sjalfstæðisflokkurinn – Independence Party – pro-West • Alþyðabandulagið – Peoples´Alliance - pro-Moscow
The United Kingdom “Their Finest Hour”
Rationing in UK Until 1951
Grimsby and Hull, England
The Struggle Begins The Emergence of Newly Independent States after World War II
Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case – ICJ 1951
UK and France back Israel in Suez Crisis, 1956
UK Rebuffed by US at the UN
Iceland’s Strategic Location in NATO Defense Plans
British trawler in waters off Iceland
First Cod War 1958 -61 Trawler Coventry City and ICGV Albert
Second Cod War 1972 -73 ramming
Second Cod War 1972 -73 Iceland’s Trawl-wire cutters
UNCLOS III Caracas, 1974
Guðmundar H. Kjærnested skipherra Hero of the Cod Wars
Third Cod War 1975 -76 Icelandic Coast Guard vs. Royal Navy
Third Cod War HMS Leander closing in on ICGV Þór January 1976
UNCLOS III, 1976
Public Relations Helgi Águstsson in 3 rd Cod War • Preferred ‘expert’ in BBC coverage • Debates MP from Grimsby on radio • ‘Carte blanche’ to answer media inquiries
The Outcome of the Three Cod Wars Expansion of Iceland’s Fishing Rights 4 NM to 12 NM to 50 NM to 200 NM
Norway Fisheries Today
International Maritime Boundaries Today
Guðni Th. Johannesson’s Taxonomy • Pressure • Prestige • Principle • Precedents • Power
UK Iceland pressure Major market for Iceland´s fish Strategic position in NATO prestige Britannia Rules the Waves underdog principle Freedom of the seas Sovereignty precedents Agreements with Danish kings ICJ ruling in 1951 power UN Security Council ´special relationship´ World opinion
Cod Wars: the Board Game
“And this, just in…”