attered or breaded? Pollock or plaice? It’s Friday, so chances are so you’re probably counting down to your weekly to the chippie. But as a fish-loving nation you might be surprised to discover that Britain exports most of the fish it catches and imports most of what it eats, including up to 95pc of the cod served in fish and chip shops, according to ING. Here"s where it comes from: Fish tank Bar chart with 10 bars. Britain is a net importer of cod The chart has 1 X axis displaying categories. The chart has 1 Y axis displaying UK imports of cod in 2018 (tonnes). Range: 0 to 30000. View as data table. Fish tank UK imports of cod in 2018 (tonnes) Fishing is one of the two main areas of contention between the UK and EU in their opening positions for a trade deal, which is due to be negotiated by November in time to ratify by the end of the year. In theory, when the transition period ends on Dec 31, Britain will “take back control” of its fishing waters – or its “exclusive economic zone” (EEZ) – including the rich fishing grounds that stretch a couple of hundred miles off the coast of Scotland. EU nations have shared access to each other’s waters, except for the EEZ around a country’s coastline. Fish landings are limited by quotas to help sustain stocks. The trouble is, Brussels wants to maintain the status quo as part of the future relationship and its negotiating mandate, published this month, said fisheries provisions should be established by July 1 – an even more ambitious deadline. Mackerel is Britain’s biggest catch at sea by weight but it was only the eighth most popular fish among shoppers in 2018 according to Seafish, a non-departmental public body set up to support the UK seafood industry, and 80pc is exported. Without a free-trade agreement, the EU would be likely to levy its “most favoured nation” tariff of up to 20pc on mackerel and could be “seriously damaging” to the industry, according to ING. “A free-trade agreement is, therefore, perhaps more likely than not,” analysts at the Dutch bank said. “A deal on fishing is possible, albeit maybe not by the end of June as the EU envisages. Ultimately it is a question of finding a quota-split and way of managing them over time.” The degree to which the prime minister will have to budge on tariffs will depend on how much he is willing to concede on fishing and the second main issue of contention: the “level playing field” – rules on workers’ rights, the environment and state aid. But ultimately: “The difference between having a free-trade agreement and not isn’t massive, at least in economic terms,” ING said. “Politically, that means that walking away from these talks isn’t quite the same thing as it was in the previous Brexit negotiations.”