Made in Manchester has produced a one-off documentary for BBC Radio 4 examining the cod wars between Britain and Iceland.
The hour-long show is presented by political journalist, Julia Langdon and includes interviews with retired trawlermen; former deputy PM, John Prescott; ex-Foreign Office minister, Roy Hattersley; and the current President of Iceland.
The ‘wars’ which took place between 1958 and 1976 saw fishing boats from Hull and Grimsby being challenged by Icelandic ‘gun boats’ as they fished in the seas around the North Atlantic island.
“This was a serious battle and the Royal Navy was even called in. Iceland was determined to protect their ability to make the most of their waters,” said executive producer, Ashley Byrne.
“Fishing nets would be cut and it’s quite amazing that no one was ever killed in these skirmishes.”
Iceland won all 3 cod wars and the restrictions placed on Britain fishing in their waters led to the demise of the fishing industry on the east coast.
The programme Archive on 4: The Cod Wars Revisited airs Saturday, 29th September.
