Rockfish to remove cod from menus due to supply issues

Mitch Tonks has announced that his Rockfish restaurants will remove cod from all menus this summer due to global supply issues.

The business said it saw the move as “a great opportunity for British people to embrace and celebrate other varieties of British fish”.

Rockfish said it buys Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified cod, however pressures brought on by the significant proportion of the world's whitefish supply accounted for by Russian boats and rising import tariffs due to sanctions and the subsequent increase in demand and price of fish from other non-Russian fisheries (including Norway, where Rockfish sources its cod) has made for an “incredibly difficult supply chain to manage”.

To avoid making cod uneconomical for the restaurant group and customers, the decision has been made to temporarily take cod off menus from 11 July until supplies return to a more manageable rate.

Tonks said: “We know that in parts of Britain, fish and chips means cod and chips. At the moment because of global supply issues resulting in significant cost implications for our customers, we have sat down as a team and made the decision to make this the summer of British fish. This is a brilliant time for British fishing and now is our chance to celebrate lesser consumed but excellent British fish such as hake (in abundance currently and MSC-certified), plaice, gurnard and MSC haddock."

He added that it was “by no means a permanent decision, but a way to protect customers from having to overpay due to external forces”.