"In 1972, Iceland—whose quarter of a million population was at that time almost exclusively dependent on fishing—unilaterally declared an Exclusive Economic Zone extending beyond its territorial waters, before announcing plans to reduce over-fishing. It policed its quota-system with its coast guard, leading to a series of net-cutting incidents with the British trawlers that fished the areas. As a result, a fleet of British Royal Naval warships and tug-boats was employed to act as a deterrent aga