The north Atlantic, and in particular the waters referred to as the EU's Northern External Waters, has a plentiful stock of cod and haddock supplying the UK’s fish & chip shops.
- The UK imports most of the fish it eats and exports most of what it catches;
- Cod and haddock are UK consumers' favourite fish;
- These fish are found in large quantities in the ‘Northern External Waters’, a term used by the European Union to describe the waters to the north of UK waters;
- To provide British fish for our fish & chip shops, the Kirkella needs access to quotas from Norway, Svalbard, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization);
- If these quotas are unavailable, the UK will have to import even more of its cod and haddock from Norway and elsewhere. 'Seafish' states that cod imports in 2022 had a value of £564.1 million (54.8% of UK demersal imports), the price of which increased by 31% on 2021. Norway reports that 2022 was a record year for seafood exports to the UK measured in value, with a significant increase for frozen whole cod.
