A Co Derry business could be without fish for the next two months due to 'Brexit and rising costs'.
Native Seafood, based in Portstewart, said that fuel costs to boats made "it not financially viable for them to go out" onto the sea.
In a statement, the owners said that they wouldn't be closing the business, instead opting to improvise their menu.
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They said: "Bad news. You might have noticed we have had no fish this week, this is due to complications with Brexit and the rising cost of fuel for the boats making it not financially viable for them to go out.
"This means we are working with one boat a week for white fish and prime. We are still able to get some lobster and mackerel out of Portstewart and Portrush and oysters and mussels from the Foyle, but bar this we will have very minimal seafood options.
"This is roughly estimated to last for the next two months and beyond that who knows.
"We don't want to close and we have an amazing team so we will improvise our menu with more locally sourced meat and veg dishes and put on whatever seafood we can get our hands on but it's not looking great
"Thanks for being pretty much class and understanding. Your support means everything! We'll update you along the way, with a new menu dropping [as soon as possible]. We will post it up soon."
Meanwhile, SDLP East Derry MLA Cara Hunter said without the NI Protocol things "would likely be much worse".
She said: “The cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on businesses in East Derry and right across the North. Many are already dealing with huge overheads and are now struggling to keep up with the huge spike in utility costs and are having to make difficult decisions as a result.
"Without support we could be facing business closures as we have already seen happen in other places and that would be devastating for both owners and staff.
“We warned that Brexit would have an impact on businesses and people here, we voted against it, but still we are dealing with the consequences. Without the Protocol things would likely be much worse.
“We need to see both the British government and our Executive step up and provide support to businesses to help them through this crisis.
"It’s deeply regrettable that the DUP’s continued boycott of our institutions has left us powerless to help people. I hope that Native Seafood can navigate their way through this setback and get back to providing people in Portstewart with the top-class seafood experience they have come to expect soon.”
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