Millions of pounds worth of mackerel and herring cannot be exported due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

This news follows an announcement by Chancellor Rishi Sunak that the UK government will impose a 35% tax hike on hundreds of Russian goods, including seafood.

Every year, Scotland exports around 12,000 tonnes of herring and mackerel to Belarus and Ukraine. The ongoing conflict means that these shipments cannot arrive, putting a £20 million market at risk.

Lunar, a fish and freezing firm based in Aberdeen, has reported that its lorries have not been able to get to Ukraine.

Impact on prices

Last week, Seafish, the Grimsby-based UK authority, predicted that the impact of the latest tariffs could bring price rises as high as 20-30% and potential product ranges being withdrawn as alternative supply chains are explored.

Chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association James Buchan warned of the impact of supply issues on the price of fish. He said: “Fish Friday is going to be a whole lot more expensive.

“Such is the demand for fish that what we land locally does not meet what the market requires.

“For our own fishing fleet [in Scotland] there will be more demand which will offset rising fuel costs, but equally these factories [in Peterhead] need a constant supply of white fish and people in those factories need work.

“Without that supply, we could get into financial difficulty.”