It is – along with the royal crown – one of the emblems of the United Kingdom. The famous fish and chips, consisting of breaded fish and fries, could suffer from the war in Ukraine due to a Russian bill. “Putin threatens British fish and chips: Russia declares fishing war”, is the headline Daily Mail.
The crunchy and hugely popular dish is said to be under threat from the potential breakdown of a 1956 agreement between the two countries allowing British ships to fish in Russian Arctic waters.
A response to economic sanctions
According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Vladimir Putin is reportedly preparing to call this agreement into question. “Russia will ban Britain from fishing in the waters of the Barents Sea,” reports the DailyMail. This bill, validated by the government, must still go through the Russian Parliament, it is specified.
This decision would be a response to the multiple British economic sanctions taken against Moscou since the entry into war against Ukraine. The United Kingdom notably excluded Russia from the “Most favored nation clause” in March 2023 (for example allowing customs duties to be increased)recalls the British daily.
This fishing ban could therefore endanger the most famous breaded fish on the planet. Because a large quantity of cod and haddock (the white under the breading) sold in the country comes from these Russian waters.
According to data from UK Fisheries“566,784 tonnes of cod were caught in the Barents Sea [située au nord de la Norvège et de la Russie occidentale] just last year,” specifies the English daily. According to Sky News, up to 40% of cod and haddock consumed in the UK comes from Russian territory. A significant loss of income and a hard blow for British gastronomy. Who, between us, honestly didn’t need that.