The British May Have To Bid The Classic Fish And Chips Goodbye, Study Suggests

Research predicts that the types of fish commonly used for the famous British favourite, fish and chips, will soon decline in production. The British would have to settle with other types of fish, as the North Sea warms by about 1.8 degrees over the next 50 years.

According to the modelling works of scientists, other types of fish species, however, will soon shift to UK waters once its temperatures change. With this, a study published in the Nature Climate Change journal said that sardines, squid and the like would have to replace the classic fish and chips enjoyed by the country for generations. The researchers from the University of Exeter also adds that people would have to eventually deal with this change in food production and adjust their diets.

The study was conducted by reviewing information based on long-term records of North sea fish, including haddock, lemon sole, hake, dab and plaice against the formulated model projections for the next 50 years. It was found that while several types of fish will move north and eventually cope when sea waters warm, some species, particularly flat fish will not be able to adapt to the deep, rocky waters.

"The flat fish are really in trouble," said marine biologist Stephen Simpson from the University of Exeter. He adds, "Unless they can change their habitat and diet in the next 20 or 30 years, or adapt to 2 degrees more warming - which is a big ask - then they will decline." This will totally change the fishing industry and the daily catch of fishing boats, he predicts.

Nonetheless, Simpson said that UK’s diet will not go absolutely fish-free as warmer water fish can most likely take the place of the migrating species. The most common species that UK may expect to find in the seas are John Dory, red mullet, sardines, anchovies, gurnard, squid and cuttlefish. He said that people would have to learn how to eat such fish types so that the fishing industry could be productive, and that people would catch and eat local fish. He further notes that the waters of UK will be comparable to that of Portugal and Spain.

“[The study confirmed] that we have to be much smarter and more precautionary in the way we manage our fish stocks," said Dr Peter Richardson of the Marine Conservation Society. "We cannot continue to be so cavalier with such a valuable resource and expect it to be resilient to the impacts of climate change."

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