A half-century-old fishmongers is no longer the plaice to be after shutting up shop for the last time.

The family-run Geo Watts & Son in St James’s Street, Brighton, has been serving fishy treats to loyal customers since 1966.

Originally opened and run by war veteran Mr George Watts, the popular shop has been serving up fantastic fillets and super shellfish for decades and has seen man’s first moon landing, England’s first and ever only World Cup victory and even the Queen’s silver, gold and diamond jubilees.

But sadly, the doors to the shop were closed for good earlier this month by the late Mr Watts’ son Mike, who has bigger fish to fry – spending quality time with his family.

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Speaking about the closure, Mike, 70, said: “I’ve spoken about it for about 18 months.

“It was a tough decision because it becomes a way of life and it takes a lot to make that final decision to close, but the truth is I want to retire – much to the delight of my family.

“I don’t think I’ll miss it, but in this business you make a lot of friends and I’ll certainly miss them.

“My grandfather was a fisherman and I of course took over from my father, so it’s always been there.”

Mr Watts said the property was now in the hands of solicitors and he expected a sale to another business soon, though not another fishmongers.

Asked whether he was a fish eater himself, Mr Watts said he “loved” it.

But his family evidently haven’t been reaping the rewards of a fishmonger husband and father.

Mike added: “But the wife and daughter aren’t fans. They’d rather starve before they succumbed to eating fish.

“I’d like to thank all my customers for their loyalty over the years. Thank you.”

St James’s Street, however, hasn’t haddock-nough of fish just yet.

In an eerily similar set of circumstances, Kelly Yeardley, 37, opened the doors to the O’Fishly Healthy fishmongers in February – herself a descendent of a fish merchant family.

She said: “My grandfather and father were both fish merchants and my mum and her side of the family have been involved in the industry too.

“Business has been going really well. I’ve seen a lot of new faces which must mean word is travelling.

Kelly was recently presented with a new enterprise award at Downing Street – a Government-backed scheme to help new start-ups that are not able to get financial backing from banks.

“I hope we can emulate the success of Geo Watts & Son and perhaps speak to The Argus about our business again in 50 years time,” she said.