CHIPPIES are struggling to keep their heads above water due to the rising costs of fish.
The sharp rise in cod prices is deeply affecting fish and chip shops nationally, with the pinch felt just as much in Worcester as it is nationally.
A mix of fishing quotas in the Atlantic, global conflict, and soaring energy costs have sent cod prices skyrocketing, with some shops already warning that further price hikes or portion reductions may be unavoidable.
READ MORE: Teachers at primary school to strike over ‘workload’ dispute
Mario Diplaros, manager of St Peter’s Fish Bar in Abbotsbury Court, Worcester, said: “We have probably put the prices up by like £1, six months ago but haven’t done it since because we don’t want people to not come in because of all the prices.
“It’s getting to the point where we’re going to have to put them up or lessen the portions.
“One hundred percent (it worries me). For me it’s my old man’s shop and I run it for him.
“In the long run, the next five or six years I don’t think fish and chip shops will be as casual as they have been.
“I think it will wear out, we will have to either put the price up to dramatic amounts or we just won’t be able to do it no more.”
Mr Diplaros explained that despite much higher costs than when his parents ran the shop, profits are lower.
“The days when my parents ran it, you’d charge £1.50 or £1 for a cone of chips and then £5 or £6 for a large fish,” he explained. “They probably made more profit than we do now.”
TIGHT: Mario Diplaros has had to put the prices up at St Peters Fish Bar (Image: Google Maps)
READ MORE: Council removes flags from Worcester street due to ‘safety concerns’
Louka Nicodemou, co-owner of Hooked on Broadway Grove, has seen similar challenges.
Mr Nicodemou said: “It’s gone up like crazy.
“We have been here about six years now. (Cod has been) a constant rise but it just jumped up by 66 per cent in the space of the year.”
Despite only raising prices once in the last two years, he says cod remains the lowest profit item on the menu, with a large portion now costing £10.
He said: “It’s just not worth it and we don’t want to push the cost too much onto the customers because it’s not fair.
“One hundred percent (it worries me).”
COSTS: Louka Nicodemou of Hooked (left alongside co-owner and wife Lia) is worried about rising cod prices (Image: Newsquest)
Mr Nicodemou added that the value of the shops themselves is also dropping.
“We hear all the time that people are selling up and even the value of fish and chip shops have decreased because the margins are so low,” he said.
“The only thing that’s saving us is because it’s a national dish we always get customers, even if they change their orders it’s a very popular dish so we do still get customers.
“That’s the thing that keeps us open, the people and community.”
READ MORE: ‘Prolific shoplifter’ jailed after she ignored warnings and stole ‘repeatedly’
Why are cod prices on the rise?
The rising costs have been attributed to global conflicts, in particular wars in both Ukraine and Iran, alongside the rising energy prices.
Conservationists have also downgraded UK-caught cod to the lowest rating due to the low population levels, caused by overfishing and rising sea temperatures.