Northumberland's fish and chip industry 'under threat' as further cost pressures loom

Jordan Stevens, who is head chef at The Fish Shack in Amble.

The possibility of sanctions on fish from Russia, the knock on effect of Covid and a possible return to a 20% VAT have all been named by the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) as major factors and potential factors for cost rises that are making things very difficult for sellers, shops and restaurants.

And the impact is being felt in coastal towns in Northumberland, which bases a large portion of its economy on fish.

Jordan Stevens, head chef at The Fish Shack in Amble, has mentioned that trawlers and illegal fishing are also causing problems.

Vito Berlino with Hazel Allan at a village show event. Picture by Kimberley Powell.

He said: “The seas are starting to get emptied by big trawlers which are taking all the fish and people are also illegally fishing, poaching, stuff like that.

"As well as that, you’ve got stuff like the war going on in Ukraine, so that obviously adds inflation on price.”

He continued: “If we have to buy a product in, we then have to increase our prices. That then gives you a bad reputation, because people think ‘why are they putting their prices so high’?”

Jordan claimed that The Fish Shack had experienced a delays in fresh fish deliveries, but that they were reluctant to buy frozen fish.

Vito Berlino, who runs the A Corvi Fish Restaurant in Berwick, said: “The costs are very expensive at the moment and we are just a small business, we can’t absorb the costs like the big multinationals. We hope it doesn’t get so bad that we have to close.”

NFFF president Andrew Crook said: “It's a terrifying situation we're facing at the moment. The high prices at the moment come down to a bit of a hangover after Covid. Energy and shipping costs have gone up. Wages have gone up. It's forcing the price of everything up.”

Around 40 to 60 percent of white fish comes from Russian sources, so whilst he said “we have to do the right thing by Ukraine”, he acknowledged that sanctions on Russian fish would be “a heavy price to pay for the industry”.

He also urged people to support their local fish and chip businesses, encouraging people to contact their local MP’s to encourage them to give greater support to the industry.