This year's fish fry might cost more. Blame tariffs.

The smell of fried cod wafts into the parking lot of the German Family Society, just outside of Akron, Ohio. Just 15 minutes after doors opened, there are easily 200 butts in seats, and the line for fried cod, German potatoes, and coleslaw stretches to the door.

Fish fries happen this time of year because Christians who observe Lent eat fish on Fridays instead of meat. But for some of this crowd, religion has nothing to do with it.

“We love the fact that fish is available for that month or five weeks,” said David Matrone.

He and his wife, Kristy Rivera, aren’t religious. But they heard about this fish fry from a friend and decided to try it out.

”We just love the demeanor here. It's just warm and very welcoming. So we came back. This is our second year,” she said.

The price they paid for dinner helps fund uniforms and travel for youth dance groups. So there are children wearing aprons, serving up food and cleaning tables.

“Almost every night of the week we have some group here practicing,” said the all-volunteer society’s vice president, Carri Sensius. “And we have our teen group that goes to Europe every six to seven years to tour and experience the culture there.”

This year, dinners cost as much as $1.50 more than they did last year, but the increase won’t be going toward uniforms and travel.

“The price for the fish has gone up really high,” said the society’s president, Awald Langenfeld.

It’s winter, so it’s not fishing season. Typically, fish producers meet the demand during Lent with more farmed fish. 

“That’s what I would call a normal year. And we’re not in a normal year,” said Martin Smith, who teaches environmental economics at Duke University and specializes in oceans and fisheries. He said the main cause of that price spike is tariffs.

“We import roughly 75% of the seafood that Americans consume,” he said. “So those tariffs are increasing the price of seafood.”

The farmed fish that helps meet this Lenten spike in demand is even more likely to be imported.

On top of that, starting this year, the U.S. implemented provisions in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which basically said many fisheries that don’t meet U.S. standards for protecting dolphins and whales and such were banned from selling into the U.S. market.

That means there’s a major dearth of supply meeting the annual Lenten spike in demand.

The German Family Society should make it through this year’s fish fry season alright, Langenfeld said.

“We will see how this week goes if we need to purchase any more. But then we're purchasing at a much higher cost, significantly higher,” he said.

And judging by the packed house, even with the spike in fish prices, there should still be plenty of money left over for the dance troupe uniforms.