Mackerel is a good fish to begin the year with. A fresh, grilled fillet goes well with the kind of punchy ingredients needed to dispel all that indulgence of goose fat, chocolate and liqueurs: lime juice, red chilli, peppery leaves like mizuna or sticks of poached, pink rhubarb from Yorkshire partner beautifully with its soft, buff flesh.

Light on calories yet overflowing with nutrients, including high levels of beneficial fatty acids, the millions of mackerel fished in British waters are one of our greatest food assets – or they ought to be. In fact, despite efforts to make them a mainstay of our diets, they are more highly valued by the French and Spanish, who lap up the British catch.

Mackerel must be eaten as soon as possible after being landed. The healthy oils contained within it also mean that the fish deteriorates quickly. It is an export that will be seriously challenged in the event of a hard Brexit. Hauliers are already warning that delays at British ports, inward and outward, will throw the food supply chain into chaos.