How the Great British chippy now costs £11: Average price of traditional fish and chip takeaways soars as overfishing of cod and sanctions against Russia take their toll on shops

Published: 20:18, 23 August 2026 | Updated: 20:21, 23 August 2026 Cod and chips was once the classic takeaway for British households on a Friday night, but as prices have soared to £11, takeaways are now turning to alternatives to the increasingly expensive fish. Five years ago, the average cost of a portion of fish and chips was £6.95, nearly £4 cheaper than the meal would cost today, according to the Office for National Statistics. Decades of overfishing of cod and haddock have been cited as one of the main causes of the rise, with quotas being lowered in key fishing waters.  Stocks have also been depleted by sanctions on Russian fishing companies, which were key suppliers to the UK. For many years, cod and haddock were mostly supplied from the Barents Sea, an Arctic fishery jointly managed by Russia and Norway. This year the two countries agreed a joint quota of 285,000 tons, the lowest since 1991. The move is an attempt to help the dwindling stock recover, with the number of cod spawning this year thought to be the lowest since 2000.    British buyers also turned their back on frozen cod and haddock, importing more than 5,000 fewer tons in the first five months of this year than in the same period in 2025 - yet still paying £37 million more for the reduced volume. A saithe option? The underused fish was once thought to be a viable alternative for fish and chip shops around Britain, according to an expert at the Norwegian Seafood Council (file photo) Stocks of saithe, once held up as an alternative to cod, have also become erratic. When cooked, saithe is said to boast a much stronger and more satisfying flavour than traditional options.  Just 182 tons were imported in the first five months of this year, 94 per cent lower than the combined imported weight of cod and haddock. Chippies are now looking for even more eccentric alternatives to provide an affordable option to punters.    Some have turned to serving octopus and chips, with the cephalopod becoming increasingly abundant in British waters. However, before being served, octopus needs to be processed, removing the internal organs and tough beak and cleaning the suckers. As the product is not common in Britain, it is often exported to Spain before being returned. Others have turned to dogfish, a type of small shark found in British waters.   Last year, two of Russia's largest fishing firms, Norebo and Murman Seafood, were sanctioned by the EU, which alleged that they had spied on underwater European infrastructure for the Kremlin. Russian-flagged vessels are also banned from docking in UK ports, meaning that sanctions have halted the UK's supply of Russian fish. Back in 2022, the UK imported nearly 3,000 tons of frozen haddock from Russia even after 35 per cent tariffs were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. Just 237 tons of Russian haddock have been imported this year.  The UK has now turned to Iceland for more of its frozen fish. The Nordic nation now commands over half of all frozen haddock supply. However, it charges an average 56.8 per cent more than Russian haddock. Conservationists have warned for decades about the dwindling cod supplies caused by overfishing.  The alternative was supposed to be pollock, a far cheaper species.  In 2011, Jamie Oliver launched his own range of pollock fish fingers to try and promote the switch, but the meals have since been discontinued. Gary Warner, the fifth-generation owner of Warners Fish Merchants in Doncaster, specialises in supplying Icelandic cod and haddock to fish and chip shops told The Sunday Times: 'A lot of fish and chip shops have relied upon the smaller fish that we used to get from Russia, but that's gone from the industry,  'Overfishing has been an issue in the Barents Sea, but politics is taking equally as strong a part in supply to fish and chip shops.' Andrew Crook, head of the National Federation of Fish Friers, said that he is one of only a handful of shops in the UK that serves the traditional fish and chips Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, has encountered a different problem in his Lancashire chip shops: he can obtain pollock, but struggles to persuade customers to order its darker, earthier-tasting flesh.  'I sell a few, but it's on the menu, and the job it does for me is to offer something at a different price point.' Mr Crook, warned earlier this year that his shop in Euxton, Lancashire, is now one of just a handful across the country that only serves the original dish.  The heyday of the fish and chip takeaway is long gone, with just 11,000 shops in the UK today, compared with around 35,000 in the 1920s.  Mr Crook said they risk becoming even 'more niche' over the next five years.  He told the Manchester Evening News: 'I have long said we are similar to butchers. In the 1950s they had no competition but when supermarkets could do average quality meat in volume only the butchers who offered top quality produce with excellent customer service survived. I think fish and chip shops will become more niche over the next five years.'  It is not just fish which is going up in price.  The price for a kilogram of potatoes has risen by 27 per cent in the space of a year, while the cost of a battered white fish is up by nearly a third. Oil prices – cooking oil, that is – have risen by almost 50 per cent.  Mr Crook previously told the Daily Mail: 'The industry is under a lot of pressure due to issues with fish supply that is likely to continue for a couple of years. 'We are expecting next year to be the most difficult as a further reduction in the Barents Sea quota is due to be announced by the 12th of December for 2026 taking it down to a quarter of what it was in 2019. 'We are also squeezed by increased costs in other areas such as payroll and utilities that are affecting all of hospitality with small independents feeling it the most. Combine that with competition from supermarket ready meals which are often ultra processed and are zero rated for VAT.