South African hake is becoming a regular feature on UK fish and chip shop menus as the industry seeks alternatives to Russian whitefish, which was slapped with trade sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

Before the invasion, Russia supplied around 40 percent of the whitefish -- made up largely of cod and haddock -- bought by the UK fish and chip sector.

At two-thirds of the cost of traditional cod and haddock products, hake is proving attractive to fish and chip shop owners.