For cod’s sake, don’t sacrifice the fish

One of the more dispiriting experiences of the British supermarket is a visit to the fish counter. On a  historically seagoing island, the selection is often abysmal, frequently imported, and always expensive: farmed Norwegian salmon, farmed Vietnamese basa (blech), cod gone a suspicious taupe and priced like its weight in saffron (83 per cent of the cod consumed in the UK is also imported; why?) and maybe a few locally sourced mackerel or sardines, depending on the day.

Otherwise, vinegary cockles, leathery kippers and smoked haddock the garish colour of a child’s toy substitute for a fresh catch from British waters. Worse, at my nearest Tesco, as of two months ago there is no fish counter. Nearly all the prepackaged fillets in the refrigerated aisle are shipped from elsewhere.

I realise that we’re all looking forward to not talking about Brexit for a while. We can also hope that the Prime Minister is already clued-up about the idiosyncratic preoccupations of his citizenry, and doesn’t need more advice.