The Cod Wars were a series of confrontations between Iceland and the United Kingdom over fishing rights in the North Atlantic, spanning from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. These disputes, often referred to as ĂžorskastrĂĂ°in in Icelandic, arose as Iceland sought to expand its territorial waters to protect its fishing resources, a crucial part of its economy. The conflicts occurred in four stages: a Proto Cod War (1952–1956) and three subsequent Cod Wars (1958–1961, 1972–1973, and 1975–1976).
In each instance, Iceland unilaterally extended its fishing limits—first to 12 nautical miles (1958), then 50 miles (1972), and finally 200 miles (1975)—to which the UK responded by sending naval protection for its trawlers. Icelandic patrol boats, in turn, used tactics like cutting British trawlers' nets and ramming their ships. The disputes escalated into physical confrontations, involving damage to vessels but few casualties, except for one Icelandic engineer killed during the Second Cod War.
Iceland's success in these disputes was largely due to its strategic Cold War position in the GIUK gap, a key location for NATO's anti-submarine efforts. Iceland repeatedly threatened to leave NATO and close the U.S. base at KeflavĂk, a vital NATO outpost, which pressured Western powers to support Iceland's claims. In the end, the UK conceded to Iceland’s demands, recognizing its exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles in 1976. The Cod Wars ultimately devastated British fishing communities but secured Iceland’s control over its maritime resources.