Sky News says UK fish & chips are under threat – what a load of codswallop!

National headlines published by Sky News yesterday (18th of January 2024) stated that the ‘UK’ Fish and Chips are under threat because British boats are to be banned from key fishing grounds off the coast of Russia, as Vladimir Putin's government prepares to terminate an agreement dating back to 1956.

This is highly inaccurate, as UK Fishing vessels do not fish these grounds. The only UK vessels that would be large enough to go this far offshore would be the UK’s pelagic fleet, which fish in the North Atlantic, and the UK's Frozen at Sea fillets vessel – the Kirkella, which does not catch fish in the Russian economic zone.

Thankfully, our iconic dish is going nowhere. As the representative body for some of the biggest suppliers of cod and haddock to the fish & chip industry representing fisheries in the Northern Hemisphere we strongly refute any suggestion that the UK will be left without fish & chips – or even that we will see a significant, detrimental impact on the supply chains on which the industry depends.