Pollock and chips? British chippies face closure unless we eat cheaper fish, says award-winning owner
The owner of an award-winning fish and chip shop has warned that chippies will close unless customers start eating alternatives to cod.
Andrew Arnold, who runs Railway Street Fisheries in Pocklington, near York, claims cod has become too expensive and cheaper fish such as pollock could keep the fry in business.
It revealed that cod and haddock prices had risen sharply, with a 20kg tin of cod costing £110 in December 2024 now priced at £330, a 200 per cent increase.
Haddock and chips are now selling for £12.50 in his shop, down from £8.50 in December 2024.
Mr Arnold believes “people’s mentality needs to change” and suggests customers order cheaper varieties such as Norwegian pollock, which he insists tastes just as good.
“If we don’t diversify and do different things, the traditional fish and chip shop will disappear,” he said. BBC.
“I could sell Pollock for £10.50 and still make a decent profit on it.”
According to ONS figures, the average price of a takeaway fish and chips in 2026 was £11.02; This represents a 10 per cent increase on last year, when the average was £10.06.
To keep up with inflation, a growing number of fish fryers have turned to frying alternative species, such as pollock from South Africa, hake and hoki from New Zealand, according to Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Fryers.
But Grimsby fishmonger Nathan Godley, who supplies fish and chip shops, doesn’t think selling alternative fish will work and believes British people love cod and haddock.
“I think you have to pay for it in the long run,” he told the broadcaster.
He said that not enough fish were caught and sent to chip shops, so prices increased.
In September 2025, scientists warned that fishermen must catch fewer cod in British waters to protect the species.
The International Council for Marine Research (ICES), an independent Denmark-based organization that advises the government on the management of fish stocks, found that cod populations in almost all of Britain’s waters are so depleted that none must be caught next year if the species is to recover.
