The Cold War and Britain's dispute with the USSR over territorial waters and fishery limits, 1953–1956

Abstract

This study closely examines the behaviour and actions of the British government during the dispute on territorial waters and fishery rights with the USSR, 1953–6. It demonstrates that as long as Joseph Stalin was still alive and the tension between East and West remained strong, the British had little desire to enter into bilateral negotiations with the Russians leading towards a long-standing settlement of this quarrel. Fearful that the Soviet government might use this dispute as leverage on their government to force it to make substantive concessions on trade issues, they successively managed to secure two annual extensions of the old bilateral fisheries accord of 1929. As the Cold War had reached a respite by 1955, decision-making on the British side was mainly governed by economic interests, by the requirements of the British fishing industry, and by the need to block the inroads to Britain's favourable three-mile limit, which threatened to prejudice its claim to free navigation on the high seas. In 1956, a new Anglo-Soviet fisheries agreement was accomplished, following British acquiescence to Moscow's protracted claim to a 12-mile limit of territorial waters. In return, British fishermen were granted permission to fish up to three miles off the Soviet coast, in a few designated areas only.

Keywords:

• Anglo-Soviet temporary fisheries agreement
• Barents Sea
• cod wars
• Cold War
• North Russia
• three-mile limit
• trawlers
• White Sea
• UK
• USSR

Notes

1. Mitchell, ‘Politics, fish and international resource management’; Jónsson, Friends in conflict; Thór, ‘Extension of Iceland's fishing limits’; Jóhanesson, ‘How “cod war” came’; Guðmundsson, ‘The cod and the Cold War’.

2. Robinson, Trawling, 82–130.

3. Ibid., 144–61, 208–23.

4. On the origins of the three-mile system, see Kent, ‘Historical origins of the three-mile limit’.

5. Swarztrauber, Three-mile limit, 178–92; Finley, All the fish in the sea, 45–118.

6. Evensen, ‘Anglo-Norwegian fisheries case’.

7. Thór. ‘Extension of Iceland's fishing limits’: 40–1.

8. Jóhanesson, Troubled waters, 291–304.

9. Swarztrauber. Three-mile limit, 169–71; Jóhanesson, Troubled waters, 126–7.

10. Redfearn and Aldrich. ‘The perfect cover’: 171–7; Dorril, MI6, 524; Report of the re-opened formal investigation into the loss of the FV ‘Gaul’, 134–7; http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_12_04_gaul1.pdf (accessed 22 Mar. 2015).

11. Solecki, ‘Review of the U.S.S.R. fishing industry’: 97–9; Helin, ‘Soviet fishing’: 391, 404–8.

12. TNA, FO 93/81/80, 22 May 1930.

13. Woodward and Butler, eds., Documents on British foreign policy, vol. 8, 77–80, 86–7, 90–3, 105–8.

14. TNA, FO 94/1608, 5 Jan. 1953; FO 371/106566, NS1351/2, 5 Jan. 1953.

15. TNA, MAF 209/730, FGB8818 1950/51, 3 and 8–9 May 1950; TNA, FO 371 86804 NS 1352/48, 2 Oct. 1950; FO 371 86804 NS 1352/50, 2 Oct. 1950; FO 371/86804, NS1352/58, 27 Oct. 1950.

16. TNA, FO 371/84879, NS1352/7, 17 and 19 Apr. 1951; FO 371/84879, NS1352/11, 18 Apr. 1951.

17. TNA, FO 371/84879, NS1352/13, 20 Apr. 1952.

18. TNA, FO 371/94880, NS1352/21, 5 May 1951.

19. TNA, FO 371/84879, NS1352/15, 16 Apr. 1951; FO 371/94879, NS1352/20, 2, 4, 5 and 7 May 1951; FO 371/94880, NS1352/24, 29 May 1951; FO 371/94880, NS1352/27, 14 July 1951.

20. TNA, FO 371/106566, NS1351/14, 16 Jan. 1953.

21. TNA, FO 371/106566, NS1351/6, 29 Jan. 1953; FO 371/106566, NS1351/15, 10 Feb. 1953.

22. TNA, FO 371/106566, NS1351/15, 13–14 Feb. 1953, 15 and 17 Feb 1953, 21 Feb 1953; FO 371 106556 NS1351/22, 22 Feb. 1953; FO 371 106566 NS1351/27, 25 Feb. 1953; TNA, CAB 128/26 CC (15)53(3), 26 Feb. 1953. On Board of Trade's attitude towards Anglo-Soviet trade, see Bar-Noi, ‘Short list for a long haul’: 176–8.

23. CCC, SELO 5/8, 9 Mar. 1953.

24. Young, Winston Churchill's last campaign, 142–7.

25. TNA, FO 371 106537 NS 1071/40, 28 Mar. 1953; FO 371 106533 NS1051/18, 8 Apr. 1953; Young, Winston Churchill's last campaign, 145–6.

26. TNA, FO 371 106533 NS 1051/22, 11 Apr. 1953; FO 371 106533 NS 1051/23, 11 Apr. 1953; FO 371 106533 NS 1051/24, 11 Apr. 1953; FO 371 106533 NS 1051/25, 11 Apr. 1953.

27. TNA, FO 371 106534 NS 1051/34, 23 Apr. 1953; FO 371 106534 NS 1051/38, 29 Apr. 1953; FO 371 106534 NS 1051/40, 9 May 1953; FO 371 106534 NS 1051/40, 12–13 May 1953; FO 371 106767 NS 1351/39, 11 May 1953.

28. TNA, FO 371 106567 NS 1351/37, 12 May 1953.

29. TNA, FO 371 106534 NS 1051/43, 15 May 1953.

30. TNA, FO 371 126567 NS 1351/40, 3 and 5 June 1953.

31. TNA, FO 371 126567 NS 1351/43, 18 June 1953.

32. Bar-Noi, ‘Moscow and the curtailment of British exports’.

33. TNA, FO 371 126567 NS 1357/47, 24 June 1953.

34. Bar-Noi. ‘Moscow and the curtailment of British exports’, 71.

35. TNA, FO 371 126567 NS 1351/64, 6 Nov. 1953.

36. TNA, FO 371 126567 NS 1351/64, 10 Nov. 1953; FO 371 126567 NS1351/67, 12 Nov. 1953.

37. TNA, FO 371 126567 NS1351/70, 17 Nov. 1953.

38. Bar-Noi, Cold War, 110–16.

39. Bar-Noi. ‘Moscow and the curtailment of British exports’, 72–3; Young, ‘Winston Churchill's peacetime administration’: 131–3.

40. TNA, FO 371 111721 NS 1153/13G, 10–11 Feb. 1954; FO 371 111720 NS1351/17, 17 Feb. 1954.

41. TNA, FO 371 111738 NS 1351/24, 11 Mar. 1954; FO 371 111738 NS 1351/27, 24 Mar. 1954; FO 371 111739 NS 1351/32, 13 Apr. 1954; FO 371 111739NS 1351/35, 3 May 1954.

42. TNA, FO 371 111739 NS 1351/34, 26 Apr. 1954.

43. TNA, FO 371 111739 NS 1351/37, 19 and 22 May 1954.

44. TNA, FO 371 111739 1351/39, 2 June 1954; FO 371 111739 1351/40, 3 June 1954.

45. TNA, FO 371 111739 NS1351/49, 6 Dec. 1954.

46. TNA, FO 371 116750 NS1351/3, 2 Mar. 1955.

47. TNA, FO 371 116750 NS1351/5, 19 Apr. 1955; FO 371 116750 NS1351/7, 20 May 1955; FO 371 116750 NS1351/11, 11 June 1955; FO 371 116750 NS1351/13, 15 June 1955; FO 371 116750 NS1351/15, 17 June 1955; FO 371 116750 NS1351/17, 22 June 1955.

48. TNA, FO 371 1116750 NS1351/18, 24 June 1955.

49. TNA, FO 371 116750 NS1351/32, 30 June and 1 July 1955.

50. TNA, FO 371 116750 NS1351/18, 1 July 1955; FO 371 116750 NS1351/23, 2 July 1955.

51. TNA, FO 371 116750 NS1351/26 and 27, 6 July 1955.

52. On the outcome of the Rome conference, see Finley. All the fish, 134–53.

53. TNA, FO 371 116751 NS1351/41, 18 July 1955.

54. TNA, FO 371 116751 NS1351/43, 19 July 1955.

55. TNA, FO 371 116751 NS1351/47, 29 July 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/49, 29 July 1955.

56. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/50, 2 Aug. 1950; FO 371 116752 NS1351/54, 2 Aug. 1954.

57. TNA, FO 371 116722 NS1351/52, 4 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/55, 5 Aug. 1955.

58. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/53, 4 Aug. 1955.

59. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/57, 6 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/58, 5 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/53, 6 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/62, 11 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/63, 12 August 1955.

60. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/61, 15 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/68, 15 Aug. 1955.

61. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/71, 19 Aug. 1955.

62. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/64, 16 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/67, 22 Aug. 1955.

63. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/67, 24 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/71, 22 Aug. 1955.

64. TNA, FO 371 116752 NS1351/70, 25 Aug. 1955; FO 371 116752 NS1351/74, 30 Aug. 1955.

65. TNA, FO 371 116753 NS1351/77, 1 Sep. 1955; FO 371 116753 NS1351/78, 6 Sep. 1955.

66. TNA, FO 371 116753 NS1351/81, 20 Sep. 1955; FO 371 116753 NS1351/92, 21 Oct. and 5 Nov. 1955; FO 371 116573 NS1351/97, 14 and 15 Nov. 1955.

67. TNA, FO 371 116753 NS1351/99, 12 Dec. 1955.

68. TNA, FO 371 116753 NS1351/100, 16 Dec. 1955.

69. TNA, FO 371 116753 NS1351/103, 23 Dec. 1955.

70. TNA, FO 371 122901 NS1351/1, 29 Dec. 1955.

71. TNA, FO 371 122901/2, 9 Jan. 1956; FO 371 122901 NS1351/5, 18 Jan. 1956; FO 371 122901/8, 31 Jan. 1956; FO 371 122901 NS1351/13, 27 Feb. 1956.

72. TNA, FO 371 122901 NS1351/17, 27 Mar. 1956; FO 371 122902 NS1351/18, 27 Mar. 1956.

73. TNA, FO 371 122902 NS1351/19, 14, 27 and 29 Mar. 1956.

74. TNA, FO 371 122902 NS1351/21, 4 and 17 Apr. 1956.

75. TNA, FO 371 122902 NS1351/33, 28 Apr. 1956; FO 371 12902 NS1531/35, 3 May 1956.

76. TNA, FO 371 122902 NS1351/36, 7 May 1956; FO 371 122902 NS1531/37, 7 and 16 May 1956; FO 371 122903 NS1351/61, 25 May 1956; FO 371 122903 NS1351/49, 22 May 1956; FO 371 122903 NS1351/50, 22 May 1956.

77. Bischof and Dockrill, Cold War respite, 3.