For cod's sake

As warming waters, rising labour costs and deepening geopolitical uncertainty threaten cod and haddock supplies, a tropical species could save our national dish from extinction

- BY ADTI RANE

On a drizzly afternoon in a small Lancashire village better known for its quiet, cul-de-sac calm than for culinary experimentation, a queue forms outside Skippers of Euxton Inside, the fryer hisses, the radio murmurs and, behind the counter, owner Andrew Crook lifts a golden fillet from the bubbling oil with the easy confidence of a man who has been serving cod and haddock for a lifetime.

But today something different is in the batter. Instead of the staples, customers are being handed trays of chips with tilapia a fish more associated with tropical ponds than with British Friday nights.

Most customers accept it with the politely guarded curiosity of people trying oat milk for the first time. One man brightens after a bite. "That's all right. Texture's a bit different but the taste is just like cod or haddock." Another, spearing the fillet with his fork, declares: "Even though you've told me what it is, if it was a blind taste test I'd still think it was cod or haddock."

An older woman inspects hers, shrugs, and digs in. "It's nice considering I've not tasted it before, or even heard of it. And it's crispy. I like the batter. I might finish it off." A fourth simply nods, chewing thoughtfully.

Andrew laughs. "People say they want to try new things but the second you offer them a sample they go, 'That's lovely... can I have cod and chips?' We're creatures of habit."

Habit is precisely what the seafood industry can no longer rely on. For more than a century British fish and chips have been built on cod and haddock. But warming UK waters are shifting the seascape.

Cold-loving fish have been moving north for years, and Andrew says the current supply picture is "the most stressed I've ever seen".

The Bering Sea cod quota around a million tons in 2019 has been cut to a third of that, with another 20% reduction expected.