Fishery Protection Squadron The Fishery Protection Squadron is a front - line squadron of the Royal Navy with responsibility for patrolling the UK ' s Extended Fisheries Zone . The squadron , with headquarters at Portsmouth Naval Base , are equipped with four s ; three are based in the UK , while is based in the Falkland Islands . The squadron is the oldest front - line squadron in the Royal Navy , and boasts Admiral Lord Nelson amongst those who have served in it . Originally , the squadron was based on the coast of North America , Iceland and the UK , patrolling much of the North Atlantic against French and American incursions . Over the past hundred years it has been slimmed down to follow a more policing - oriented approach , dealing mainly with infringements by civilian fishermen . Despite this , it still has a strong military role , as evidenced in its role in the Cod War s of the 1960s - 70s . Current operations . Royal Navy officers assigned to the Fishery Protection Squadron have a secondary role as British Sea Fisheries officers . There is a formal contract between the Ministry of Defence , the Marine and Fisheries Agency and DEFRA that allows the squadron to conduct inspections of all fishing vessels in all UK ( excepting Scottish ) waters . Fishery Protection Squadron vessels can also stop British fishing vessels in international waters . In the 2008 / 09 contract year , the squadron spent 700 days at sea on patrol , conducting 1 , 102 inspections . From the inspections , 231 ships broke UK or EU law . As a result , 144 verbal warnings , 33 written warnings and 10 financial administrative penalties were handed out . The most serious breaches resulted in eight vessels being detained at UK ports . When a vessel is detained , the captain of the squadron ship contacts the DEFRA operation centre in London , which formulates a decision based on information provided to it by ships , aircraft , district fishery inspectors and fishermen , and then relays this decision back to the fishery protection ship . In 2008 , 60 % of all fish caught in the EU were caught within British jurisdiction . With as many as 500 fishing ships in British waters at any one time , including dozens from other EU countries , it is acknowledged to be a very difficult task to patrol UK fishing grounds . There is also monthly rotating aerial surveillance of the entire fishing area under call - sign " Watchdog " , with aircraft provided by Direct Flight Aviation . Each aircraft transmits the identity and position of the vessel to squadron ships , which , combined with satellite data from navigational databases which allows the squadron to build a surface picture of fishing activity . Each day , data from the inspections is sent to fisheries managers . The managers form part of several agencies which co - ordinate on a super - national level to monitor the fish stocks , negotiates fishing agreements and plan conservation measures . Conflict and boarding . Occasionally , a fishing trawler will foul another ' s nets , or the sensitive border areas in the middle of the English Channel will be the focus of a dispute between trawlers . These disputes can escalate to attempted rammings , disruption of each other ' s fishing , shining searchlights into bridges and even firing flare gun s at other trawlers . In these circumstances ships of the squadron are required to separate the trawlers and act as an informal arbitrator in the dispute to prevent further conflict or injury . Their rules of engagement reflect this role . When a vessel is inspected , a boarding team from the FPS ship is sent . The team is formed of a Royal Navy and British Sea Fisheries - qualified officer , an assistant boarding officer , and a small security team . The officer sent could include the commanding officer , executive officer ( XO ) or first lieutenant , assisted by the gunnery officer , XO ' s assistant or operations officer . They work together to examine documentation , ensure the fishing gear ( and landed fish ) are of legal size , and liaise with the FPS and DEFRA via radio . History . The Fishery Protection Squadron is the oldest squadron of the Royal Navy and can be traced back to 1481 , although some sources , including the Royal Navy , date it to 1379 . Even before an organised navy was established , the herring fishermen in Great Yarmouth fought skirmishes with foreign fishermen , who would be hanged as pirates from the gallows at Cross Sands if caught . Early History . During the reign of Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses , English fishermen were beginning to fish in the waters around Iceland , and the King ordered that minimal protection be provided by and paid for by levies from the fishing industry . Richard III and Henry VII continued this , but occasionally this protection was not enough : 1 , 200 English herring fishermen were killed in a single action by Flemish warships , and the Scottish often had difficulties with Dutch fishermen . Because of these and other incidents , by the 16th century it was clear that an organised force was required . A petition was put forward to the Lord High Admiral for a small bark or two . As a result , the first Fishery Protection ship was commissioned for an annual fee to the Admiralty of £100 , paid for by the fishermen of Yarmouth . It took the form of a wafting ship ( " wafting " meaning ' to convey safely ' or ' to convoy ' ) , which patrolled the North Sea fishing grounds during the herring season . This ship was eventually replaced in 1659 by a dedicated fishery protection ship for Yarmouth , with a crew of 25 and an armament of " swords , half - pikes , muskets and an ample supply of large stones " . In the 18th century a similar arrangement was brokered by Scottish fishermen from George III , also for an annual payment of £100 . This amount is still paid today , although as a token gesture . Samuel Pepys was connected with Fishery Protection : he received an annual honorarium for efforts to gain similar protection on behalf of English fishermen . Lord Nelson , before he became famous , captained in 1781 as part of the Fishery Protection Squadron in North America , capturing the U . S . fishing schooner " Harmony " off the coast of Cape Cod . He took it in tow , with the master of the schooner acting as pilot for both ships for the unfamiliar shores around Boston Harbor . Once the ships were safe , he allowed the schooner to continue unimpeded , saying to the master , " You have rendered us a very essential service , and it is not the custom of English seamen to be ungrateful . In the name , therefore , and with the approbation of the officers of this ship , I return your schooner and with it this certificate of your good conduct . Farewell , and may God bless you . " The certificate of good conduct protected the schooner from capture by a British ship . In return , the master gave a present to Nelson of " four sheep , some poultry , and a quantity of vegetables " , which Nelson ordered to be shared amongst the sick . Even today , on Trafalgar Day , the flag officer shaves with the same cut - throat razor used by Nelson while he commanded " Albermarle " . 19th century . With historical rivalries between the U . S . and Britain in North America , the fishery protection squadron in Newfoundland and the surrounding area was seen as very important . At the time , the British hugely outnumbered the Americans in terms of fishery protection vessels , with 226 guns to 31 respectively . On 5 August 1853 , contingents of the U . S . and British fishery protection squadrons for the area met at Halifax , Nova Scotia for a goodwill visit . The steamer , carrying Commodore Shubrick and his flag , arrived under dense fog and heavy rain at 8 : 00 pm . " Princeton " saluted the citadel , and fired a 15 - gun salute " for the red cross of St . George " , which was displayed by Vice Admiral Sir George Seymour on . There was a minor problem when Commodore Shubrick received with a 13 - gun salute ; he returned the salute to the vice admiral with an equal number of guns , rather than the 15 that the vice admiral was traditionally entitled to . He believed that " a commander in chief is a commander in chief " , whatever his rank . The rest of the event went without any problems , as did a similar event held at Berkeley Springs , Virginia . At the end of May 1898 , and arrived at St Johns from Halifax , Nova Scotia , to form part of the fishery protection squadron for the French treaty coast . They were sighted off Trepassey by the Americans , who reported on their arrival in the New York Times . With these new arrivals and others , by the end of 1898 the entire squadron had been rebuilt with powerful , modern cruisers replacing the outdated corvettes previously seen . The squadron was rebuilt in part because of the threat of an oversized French armoured cruiser sent to the area the previous year , which was seen as a threat despite being too large to enter most of the local harbours . Two smaller ships were also sent by the French to replace local wooden transport vessels , and in Autumn a French squadron gathered at Saint Pierre and Miquelon , forcing the British government to respond by sending two extra ships to Sydney , Nova Scotia , only 18 hours steaming from St Peirre . For two weeks near the end of the year , a small scale war seemed likely , but was averted after diplomatic talks . French Shore . By 1900 , the situation had escalated . The key issue was the French Shore , resulting from the Peace of Utrecht . The treaty allowed the French to fish along the Newfoundland coast between Cape St . John and Cape Ray , however it made no claims about whether this was an exclusive right . As a result , the two nations roughly shared the fishing grounds under an unstable joint sovereignty understanding , but the respective fishery captains were given what were described by the local press as " autocratic powers " . These powers were given to the captains by the Newfoundland government , granted via yearly act of the Newfoundland Legislature . In 1900 , the bill was rejected in an attempt to force the British to act over what was seen as an encroaching and overbearing French presence . The British prepared to defend the area against the three French warships sent to the area each year . Colonel T Henry McCallum was appointed as governor of the colony . McCallum had already built a reputation for organising the defence of colonies , having previously fortified Singapore and Hong Kong . Fifty men were taken aboard as part of a local naval reserve force , with the hope of expanding the force to as many as 1 , 000 within a few years . There were also plans to turn St . John ' s into a naval fortress , akin to that of Halifax , Nova Scotia . " Lord Astor " incident . Tensions between Russia and the UK were heightened after the Dogger Bank incident of 1904 , and on 9 May 1923 a trawler from Hull — the " Lord Astor " — was seized by a Russian gunboat off the coast of Murmansk for alleged illegal fishing . The trawler was captured after the fishery protection sloop returned briefly to Norway to re - coal and resupply . " Godetia " was soon relieved by under Captain Evans , commander of the fishery protection cruiser squadron . 1950s . — from the Scottish region of the Fishery Protection Squadron — was sent to Lossiemouth on 1 June 1953 , to act as reviewing ship for a " Coronation fleet review " involving about 70 fishing vessels from the ports of Hopeman , Burghead and Nairn , as well as Lossiemouth proper . A Fleet Air Arm helicopter gave a demonstration of air - sea rescue operations as part of the display . On 17 April 1957 , the Glasgow Herald reported that several East Anglian herring drifters ( based at Aberdeen ) were encountering trouble with Russia n fisherman , who were intentionally fouling the nets of the British in the fishing grounds 40 miles off the coast of Norway . The " Ocean Starlight " ( Yarmouth ) lost 50 nets , the " George Spashett " ( Lowestoft ) lost 42 , and the " Ocean Sunlight " ( Lowestoft ) lost 14 . The skippers lodged complaints with the Fishery Board Officer at Aberdeen , and it was considered " possible that a fishery protection vessel may be sent " . About a year later , in April 1958 , was sent to the northern fisheries to protect British trawlers against Russian incursions , and , a fishery protection vessel , was officially handed over to the Burmese Navy to become a minesweeper and training vessel . The handover ceremony took place at the Pool of London , and was presided over by the Burmese ambassador and Earl Mountbatten . First Cod War . The Fishery Protection Squadron played a key part in the Cod Wars of the 1950s through the 1970s . During the first war , known by the Royal Navy as Operation Whippet , two extra frigates and two minesweepers were sent to the squadron on 16 August 1958 to augment the defence against Iceland ' s unilateral tripling of its territorial waters . Other countries , such as West Germany , Holland and France intervened in the conflict . The squadron ' s task was to protect British trawlers from attacks by Icelandic trawlers and coast guard vessels . By 25 August , over 100 trawlers were on their way to fish in the area , protected by four armed ships from the Fishery Protection Squadron . All trawlers carrying children were warned to move out of the conflict area . — a from the 3rd Training Squadron commanded by Lieutenant Commander R C Mayne — was transferred to fishery protection duties . It left Chatham on August 27 , 1958 to keep the squadron at full strength after it had been depleted by other vessels being withdrawn for refits . Unfortunately , one day after leaving , she was forced to drop anchor off Sheerness after salt water was found in her boilers . Hostilities began on 4 September , four days after the extension came into effect . reported that the Icelandic gunboat " Aegir " had attempted to ram her while she was escorting British trawlers in the disputed area . Two reports were received from the ship during the evening . The first , at 19 : 00 BST read , " Four gunboats in the area and plainly up to something . While covering trawlers from " Aegir " she plainly tried to ram me . " The second , at 20 : 30 BST , read , " Russell had drawn abreast " Aegir " s starboard side and was steaming at 12 knots on the same course at a distance of 200ft . Intention was to shield trawlers from " Aegir " . . . " Aegir " sounded one short blast [ signifying an intention to turn to starboard ] and put wheel over . Her wake showed considerable wheel used . I had to use 20 degrees to get clear . " Aegir " passed close astern . " The Admiralty announced that the destroyer had sailed to the area to replace , which had to return to the UK because of problems with her radar . The trawler " Northern Foam " , from Grimsby , had a boarding party of nine Icelandic officers and crew taken off her on 2 September . Before the trawler was boarded by Icelandic forces , an officer read out the punishments by megaphone to the crew . On the 16th , an attempt by ICGV " Thor " to board the trawler " Red Lancer " resulted in the " Arctic Explorer " — temporarily under the command of a Royal Navy Commodore who was visiting the ship at the time — coming to " Red Lancer " s assistance . " Explorer " was flanked by " Lagos " and , two destroyers , and forced the boarding party from " Thor " to retreat . " Explorer " was presented with the Commodore ' s pennant as a memento of the incident . In another incident , on 7 October , naval surgeons managed to amputate six fingers from an injured fisherman from the trawler " Loch Inver " . The operation was performed aboard , in the officer ' s mess , as Iceland had forbidden sick and injured men to be landed at Icelandic ports . By the end of the first war , the squadron was recorded to have given assistance on 360 occasions . After the war , there was some experimentation with hovercraft , which were planned to be armed with several machine guns and capable of . Four hovercraft — with a crew of 18 each — would have been able to take on the duties of six minesweepers , each with a crew of 35 . Because of the limited range and poor sea - keeping qualities of hovercraft , however , these plans were quickly abandoned in favour of regular craft . 1960s . In 1967 , the Fishery Protection Squadron consisted of three divisions : 1970s and the third Cod War . On 1 September 1972 , Iceland again expanded her maritime exclusive economic zone , this time to . This provoked another dispute , eventually escalating to further armed conflict between the UK and Iceland . Iceland ' s expansion was recognised by fishermen from all nations except two : the UK , and Germany , who still fished up to from the Icelandic coast . German trawlers , however , tended to be more interested in saithe and ocean perch rather than cod , haddock and flatfish ; because of this , they tended to stick to oceanic , rather than coastal waters . As the dispute escalated , British trawler captains began to cover their names and registration numbers to avoid action from Icelandic courts ; as an additional , and somewhat less effective measure some hoisted the Jolly Roger in addition to the Union Jack . The Icelandic Coastguard viewed this as a violation of international law , and took many photographs of the trawlers displaying these signs ; including a picture taken on 5 September 1972 of a ship believed to be the trawler " Peter Scott ( H103 ) " . The Icelandic strategy involved the use of net - cutters , invented by Commander Péter Sigurǒsson , Director of the Coast Guard , with assistance from Friŏrik Teitsson from the Icelandic lighthouse institution and Tómas Sigurǒsson , who were both ironmongers . The invention — tested in 1958 — was known as the trawlwire cutter ; it was not used until 5 September 1972 , after every Icelandic ship had been equipped with it . The ships would take a two - step approach : As previously mentioned , the " Ægir " carried out the first successful cutting on 5 September in an action against a trawler believed to be the " Peter Scott " , sailing under a pirate flag and a Union Jack , with its registration number and name covered . Throughout 1972 , 10 trawlers had their nets cut : nine British , and one West German . For the year of 1973 , this had expanded to 60 British and 14 West German trawlers ; a loss of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of nets . A British response was inevitable given the anger of the trawler captains at the time . The captains believed that they were well within their rights to fish on what they understood to be the high seas , an assumption they interpreted from the ' interim measures of protection ' issued by the International Court of Justice on 17 August 1972 . As such , and in line with the ICJ ' s ruling , the British government endeavoured to protect British trawlers up to the 12 - mile limit , provided that the total catch did not exceed . British trawler captains , eager to protect their nets , tried several tactics : Because of the failure of all the above tactics , British trawlers withdrew from Icelandic waters on 17 May 1973 , citing fears for their own safety and livelihoods . They informed the British government that unless the Royal Navy were sent to protect them , they would not return to fishing in that area . Two days later , on 19 May , the government acquiesced , and a number of British frigates sailed north . Fishery Protection Squadron intervention . After 19 May , three or four British frigates , four tugs , and as many as five Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels , were in the disputed area to protect an average of 46 trawlers from Icelandic harassment . In order to keep some on station at all times , seven frigates were taken from ordinary duties to be assigned to the squadron . In addition , several Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft were sent to the area , and the total manpower assigned was in the region of 2 , 000 personnel . The strategy used by the British was relatively straightforward : they marked out " fishing boxes " for use by trawlers , protected by high - speed frigates at the outer edges , and with the slower tugs ready to see off any attempts by the ICG to intervene inside the boxes . When an ICG vessel was sighted , the frigates would sail towards it and place themselves between the trawlers and the ICG vessel , sailing parallel at close range . Occasionally , because of the close manoeuvring and heavy seas , one ship would find itself across the path of another . This led to accusations of ramming between the two countries , but accounts from each side differ as to who rammed who ; the British maintain that the Icelandic vessels turned and rammed them using their strengthened bows , whereas Iceland maintain that the British ships turned across their bows and immediately slowed down . Altogether , 14 ' rammings ' were recorded by the ICG between October 1972 and September 1973 .