The organisation’s recently appointed UK director, Bjørn-Erik Stabell, told Restaurant that saithe - also known as coley or coalfish -could be a viable alternative to cod and haddock for some fish and chip shops.
Saithe (Pollachius virens), a member of the pollock family, has darker flesh and a stronger flavour than cod. It should not be confused with Atlantic pollock, which is already commonly used as a cod and haddock substitute in UK chippies.
“The UK’s fish and chip industry is extremely important - it’s an institution,” Stabell says “But we need to look beyond cod and haddock. Saithe is a great option. We’ve had fantastic feedback from restaurants and chefs who are able to look past the colour. We’ll be doing a lot of work over the coming year to encourage the industry to make better use of it.”
Low cod and haddock quotas in recent years have put intense pressure on fish and chip shops, as passing on higher prices to customers risks hitting sales.
Saithe remains significantly cheaper than cod and haddock, with quotas up 12% for 2025 to 200,299 tonnes, and demand relatively low on these shores.
In the past 12 months, the UK imported 191,149 tonnes of cod and 101,330 tonnes of haddock, compared with just 957 tonnes of saithe.
According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, a government-owned organisation that promotes Norwegian seafood worldwide, saithe is far more popular on the continent, ranking as the third most consumed white fish in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), says that while his members are enjoying a brief respite thanks to seasonal drops in cod prices, the long-term outlook remains challenging.
“Wholesale prices of cod have doubled over the past few years, and shops have largely absorbed that. Things aren’t set to get better anytime soon - it’s looking like the amount of cod available in the Barents Sea will be about a quarter of what it was in 2019,” he says. “So, lots of us are looking at alternative species.”
Crook says some NFFF members have successfully experimented with saithe, including Harrison’s Fish & Chips in Oxford and The Scrap Box in York.
“It’s not easy to get people to try new things,” he adds. “In my own shop - Skipper of Euxton in Chorley, Lancashire - I’m using tilapia to bring the price down to £6.95 compared with £11.50 for cod and chips. People are generally okay paying for cod at the moment, but it’s going to be a different story when the dish tips over the £15 mark. Saithe is a decent fish if you handle it right. If we can get consumers to accept it, it’ll really help.”
Beyond rising fish prices, shops are also being squeezed by the soaring cost of potatoes and cooking oil, high energy prices, increased insurance requirements for fire safety systems, and higher National Insurance and minimum wage rates.
“It’s just not worthwhile running these businesses for many. It’s getting to the stage where a lot of people have simply had enough,” says Crook.
According to the NFFF, up to one third of UK fish-and-chip shops could close if current cost and supply pressures continue.