Why UK Cod Prices Are Rising and Fish and Chips Now Cost Over 11 Pounds

## Why have cod prices risen? Three main factors are driving the increase: **Fishing quota reductions:** The UK, EU and Norway negotiate annual cod catch limits. For 2026, the agreed quota allows fishermen to catch 44% fewer cod than in the previous year, following concerns about critically low cod stock levels in the North Sea and North Atlantic. The 2026 cod quota is set at 25,028 tonnes, down 20% compared to 2025. **Import price inflation:** Seafood industry body Seafish data shows UK import prices for cod rose 27% in 2025. Haddock import prices rose 47% over the same period. The UK imports the majority of the cod it consumes, primarily from Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. **Energy costs:** Fish and chip shops face elevated energy costs for cooking and refrigeration, which have fed through into retail prices.

## What is the UK's cod quota? Fishing quotas are set annually under negotiations between the UK (post-Brexit as an independent coastal state), the EU and Norway. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) publishes the economic outcomes of these negotiations at gov.uk. The quota reductions reflect scientific assessments of fish stock health. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) provides the scientific advice on which quota decisions are based. ## What are chip shops doing about it? Discover Seafood and the National Federation of Fish Friers have launched a campaign encouraging chip shops to diversify their menus beyond cod and haddock, using UK-caught species such as pollock, coley and hake, which face lower quota pressures and are cheaper to source. Around 70% of the seafood the UK catches is exported, while 80% of what the UK eats is imported - a structural mismatch that leaves domestic consumers exposed to global wholesale price movements.