All wars have casualties, including intentional ones and “collateral damage”. Somewhere between these two extremes lies Bridlington’s proud former fishing fleet. The Cod Wars were thankfully among the least bloody in history, barring a few thrown potatoes and rammed trawlers. However, there were still casualties in the form of Britain’s fishing industry and the culture that had developed alongside it.
What were the Cod Wars?
The Cod Wars were a series of heated disputes between British and Icelandic fishing fleets in the North Atlantic. The Icelandic coastguard and the British Royal Navy also became involved, each claiming to protect their own fishing vessels. The ships primarily involved in the Cod Wars rarely came out of Bridlington – more often being the large-draft trawlers out of nearby Hull and Grimsby. However, the repercussions from the ‘wars’ of 1958, 1972, and 1975 ricocheted throughout Britain’s fishing industry and culture.
The first Cod War began in 1958 when the government of Iceland decided to expand the country’s territorial waters from 7 km offshore to 22 km offshore. The fisheries of Britain, West Germany and Belgium did not accept this drastic increase, which put some of the North Atlantic’s most fertile fishing grounds out of their reach. Trawlers kept fishing inside this exclusion zone until Icelandic trawlers and coastguard boats became aggressive with ramming and net cutting. Then the equally aggressive UK ships began to be supported by the Royal Navy. The Icelandic fishing industry and government eventually achieved their aims, offering a deal similar to the one they originally planned to.
The subsequent ‘wars’ were similar to the initial one, with similar tactics involving cutting nets, ramming and the use of blank shells. Each involved increasing aggression, scale and diplomatic risk to NATO. Besides this, each resulted in a diplomatic win by Iceland, with increased fishing zones eventually pushing out 200 km into the North Atlantic. Iceland’s strategically important position encouraged NATO to recognise these results.
Bridlington before the wars
In the old days, before 1958, there were hundreds of boats and thousands of fishermen working hard out of Bridlington. The old hands still remember phrases like “We’ll keep hauling until the bait runs out”.
In the first half of the 20th century, more than 300 boats anchored in the harbour, including 84 local ones and visiting vessels from as far afield as Scotland. This industry employed thousands in Bridlington, defining the town in a way only matched by the tourist industry.
How did ithe Cod Wars affect Bridlington?
During the wars, Brid’s fishermen and women supported their British colleagues by demonstrating in Hull, London and across the country. They offered their skills to the stretched larger vessels going out to Iceland, as is often the practice in the fishing business, where camaraderie is the name of the game.
Bridlington’s economy was shot through the heart during and between the Cod Wars. In those years, the once-burginging town went into something of a recession, with a government report revealing a high unemployment rate of 14.7% in 1976. The once bustling harbour was almost empty by the late 70s. Meanwhile, the decline in national tourism thanks to cheap international flights only added to the depression in what was once East Yorkshire’s go-to beach getaway.
Culture change and recovery
The Cod Wars changed the culture, too. One woman remembered on Facebook how her family “Fished from Bridlington and Scarborough for many years and travelled to Scotland and many miles away to earn a living.” But after the Cod Wars, “The big boats have gone now, and there is a couple of grandchildren doing it there a bit, but it is more shell fishing now.”
That shell fishing is, of course, supported, protected and encouraged by the Independent Shellfish Cooperative. We work every day to keep fishing alive at the heart of Bridlington.