The Daily Telegraph

Scampi shortage will put up price of a pub favourite

-

♦ Fans of traditiona­l pub favourite scampi and chips are facing a big rise in prices.

A long-term drop in scampi tail landings in UK waters has hit breaded scampi supplies, experts said yesterday. Scampi landings in key fishing areas such as the Clyde and the Irish Sea were down 18 per cent last year, according to Whitby Seafoods.

The company, which buys three quarters of all scampi tails landed in the UK, said the situation had become even worse this year, with scampi landings in the two sea areas slumping by 40 per cent in 2018.

Daniel Whittle, managing director of the firm, said only 70 per cent of the scampi quota was caught last year and the shortages will equal about 100,000 tons a year, or 15 per cent of the firm’s annual supply of scampi tails.

Mr Whittle said this had put up wholesale prices by 11 per cent, a rise that was bound to be passed on to consumers. He told The Grocer: “Increasing the cost to the consumer is something we don’t do lightly. But as the largest UK processor of scampi, it is in our interest to have a sustainabl­e fishing fleet.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom