Where have all the pilchards gone?

[LizzyZ1000]

I have a real hankering for pilchards in tomato sauce. Not those tiddly little sardines in tiny tins that seem to be 50% bones, but the really chunky, great fat Glenryck pilchards that used to be in every supermarket and kitchen cupboard.

Lots of supermarkets say they stock them but none actually seem to. Even Amazon is coming up short.

Apparently there is a shortage due to global warming, but if we still get sardines why not pilchards which are, after all, older sardines?

Any ideas?

Perhaps because all the baby pilchards are being turned into tinned sardines?

There is a massive shortage of sardines too, apparently due to poor catches in Morocco…
my dog is very put out that he’s now having to eat mackerel as his weekend treat! As am I as a tin of sardines is 47p as opposed to 97p for mackerel 😂

B&M is where we get them

Even before this they weren't full-size pilchards. Back in the 80s you got 4 to a tin but this century it's been 6 or 7.