The Knights of Columbus Holy Trinity Council #4400 in Joliet is pausing its 69-year-old fish fry due to a shortage of its signature Alaskan cod.

The Knights posted an announcement about the pause and the cause on its website, promising to update the information when their supplier can provide a sustainable supply of Alaskan cod.

“We have sampled other options, but they do not compare to the product we have served at our fish fry for almost 70 years,” according to the website. “This has caused us to make the difficult decision pause our fish fry until we are able to secure the fish we need to resume operations.”

Shane Gordan, Knights of Columbus Holy Trinity Council #4400 board member, said he can’t give an exact reason for the shortage.

What’s certain is that Lent will soon begin and the Knights’ supplier can’t guarantee any supply of the council’s signature Alaskan cod, he said.

So the Knights paused the fish fry rather than substitute a lower quality fish, he said.

“We just don’t want to offer a substandard product to our customers,” Gordan said.

The Knights considered Atlantic cod. But prices were exorbitant with the current shortage.

“It just wasn’t cost-effective,” Gordan said.

Smaller codfish are more plentiful and less expensive, he said, but Alaskan cod at Council #4400’s fish fry “is the largest cod that’s available out there.”

Pacific cod – also known as Alaskan cod – is a lean, flaky, mild-tasting fish, with higher moisture content and less firmness than Atlantic cod, according to NOAA Fisheries.

Although the Knights serve other entrees, Alaska codfish comprises 80% of the orders, Gordan said.

“And it doesn’t even make sense to serve chicken and shrimp during Lent,” he said.

Gordan said even if the Knights served a smaller, thinner cod, customers might wonder if the Knights were “trying to pull something on them” or even if the fish were a different species.

“They’re used to what we’ve served them for the last 70 years,” he said. “I don’t think the customers would understand, and I wouldn’t expect them to.”

Some customers drive across town and long distances for Council #4400’s fish fry. Gordan said he himself would be unhappy if he expected one type of fish to be served over another.

“And if we’re not happy serving it, I can’t expect the customer to be happy with it, either,” Gordan said.

Fish Information Services said analysts predicted global whitefish production overall would decline by 5% in 2026, with “particularly severe reductions” for cod and pollack, with cod quotas “plummeting” by 20%.

“Pacific cod is the second largest commercial groundfish catch off Alaska and virtually all of the United States,” according to NOAS Fisheries.

Gordan said the Knights can’t predict when the fish fry will resume. That might happen during Lent, “if we can get the fish,” Gordan said.

“We look forward to seeing our customers again,” he said.

For more information, visit kofc4400.com.