Choice of fish

In england, haddock and cod appear most commonly as the fish used for fish and chips,[18] but vendors also sell many other kinds of fish, especially other white fish, such as pollock or coley; plaice; skate; and rock salmon (a term covering several species of now endangered dogfish and similar fish). In some areas of southwestern and northern England, and throughout the vast majority of Scotland, haddock predominates. Indeed, in one part of West Yorkshire, the area between Bradford, Halifax and Keighley known as the “Haddock Triangle”, very few shops offer cod on their menu. In Grimsby and the surrounding area, Haddock is preferred so much that the very word Cod is virtually swearing. In Northern Ireland, cod, plaice or whiting appear most commonly in “fish suppers”. Suppliers in Devon and Cornwall regularly offer pollock and coley as cheap alternatives to haddock due to their regular availability in a common catch. As a cheap, nutritious, savoury and common alternative to a whole piece of fish, fish-and-chips shops around the UK supply small battered rissoles of compressed cod roe.

Consumers in the Ireland eat mostly cod and plaice today[update]. Dublin has a long tradition of eating fresh ray-wings with chips, with a lesser tradition of rock salmon. In the city of Galway (in the west of Ireland), chip-shops commonly offer a wide selection of fresh fish with chips, including monkfish, hake, coley, haddock, skate and scampi.

Australians prefer reef-cod (a different variety than that used in the United Kingdom) or flake, a type of shark meat, in their fish and chips, although having shark in some places may be illegal, because some of the species are endangered. Actor Ted Blanson criticized all of Britian’s fish and chips, saying that they used meat from the rare and endangered spiny dogfish. He also claims that spiny dogfish used to be a plentiful world species, but now, due to overfishing, they are very rare and on the endangered species list.[19] Victorians tend to prefer flake, whereas Australians in more northern states generally favour reef fish. Increasing demand and the decline of shark stocks due to overfishing has seen flake become more expensive and — as in the United Kingdom — other white fish (such as barramundi) will often replace it. Australian fish-and-chip shops provide a wider range of fish (such as squid) than that commonly available in other countries.

New Zealanders prefer snapper because of its superior taste, but warehou, hoki, and tarakihi offer an inexpensive alternative, and gurnard may also appear on the menu. The use of lemonfish has encouraged the use of the popular local synonym for “fish and chips” - “shark ‘n’ taties”. (Kumara chips, sometimes with sour cream, may supplement potato chips.)

Canadians use a wide variety of fish, including cod, halibut, haddock, pollock and bluefish. Fresh-water species such as yellow perch, walleye and smelt have also become quite popular in Ontario. In Vancouver, wild Pacific salmon has become a popular choice of fish.

In the United States, white fish occur most commonly by far. Salmon can, however, appear on occasion. Southern New England “clam shacks” typically use cod fillets in their fish-and-chips offerings. Minnesotans often use walleye — not necessarily branded as “fish-and-chips” but as “fried walleye” — and involving similar preparation. In the Pacific Northwest, halibut commonly appears. In the Southern United States “fish and chips” commonly comprises catfish and fries with the addition of coleslaw and hushpuppies. The south usually breads the fish with a light dusting of cornmeal, rather than the tempura type batter. Due mainly to the aquaculture industry of the south, catfish has become more commercially available and economical to obtain on a large scale. A few areas around major lakes and rivers may also serve bluegill and crappie in addition to catfish. However, law around serving panfish (bluegill, crappie) commercially varies by state.

South Africans most commonly use hake (Merluccius capensis) for fish and chips. Snoek (Thyrsites atun) has also become popular in Cape coastal areas. Kingklip (Xiphiurus capensis, known as cusk eel internationally) offers a less common and generally more expensive alternative.

In Denmark, deep-fried, breaded plaice fish-fillets served with french fries (Danish, pomfritter) arguably outsells other cooked fish - almost every restaurant in Denmark serves this dish. Traditionally, it has an accompaniment of remoulade sauce and lemon-wedges.