What is surprising though is the incredible variety of fish the Atlantic provides and nobody can cook fish better than the Spanish. Our coastline is dotted with numerous fishing ports such as Barbate, Conil de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa Maria.

Many people associate this area with the very fine tuna which is still fished using the Almadraba technique and is hard to beat when served as Atun Encebollado or Tuna with onions. Some of the restaurants along the beach at Bolonia served the best I have tasted so if you have a Sunday afternoon free pop down there and try some.

I did not you know just how many types of unusual fish the Atlantic offered but there are so many species to enjoy and many of them get the green light from conservationists.  Like the Gallo which is a type of flat fish and often served just plain grilled with lemon, olive oil and parsley or breaded and lightly fried in olive oil then served with some lemon wedges. If you are really lucky and Chef is in a good mood the ultimate for me is Gallo with green sauce. A olive oil, garlic and parsley combo which is hard to beat.

Then there is the quite sublime Cazon en adobo. For those who have not sampled it. The fish is cut into little chunks, marinated in olive oil, wine vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano and paprika normally overnight then patted well dry, coated in flour and fried in olive oil. My favourite dip for it is lemon mayonnaise. It did however come as a shock when my friend Jose at Las Perdices restaurant in Vejer de le Frontera who makes an excellent Cazon en Adobo pointed out the large set of what looked like dog teeth on the gantry above the bar. “That is what you are eating” he said. It was then that I realised I had been eating a very close relative of a shark! Still it was delicious.

Another one of my favourites is the Mero or Grouper. Generally a big fish with nice firm flesh. I like it oven baked with a seafood sauce and El Faro in Cadiz do a particularly good Mero with Carabiñeros. The bright red shells of the Carabiñeros look fabulous on the plate although the plate does look a bit of a fright when you have finished the meal with all the bits and bobs piled high.

We also have the Pez de San Pedro or St Peter fish. So called after the dark spots on it´s body which were said to have been left by St Peter when he lifted the fish out of the sea to take a coin from its mouth. Personally I have never found money in its mouth but it is very delicious with a saffron sauce.

Lastly, it would be wrong of me not to mention the good old Merluza or Hake. It really fills the Haddock bill here in Spain and can be used for almost anything from fishcakes to plain fried with some chips. I like to make fishcakes mixing the fish with some parsley sauce or when the need for spice comes upon me as it does us ex pats. I whip out a bag of Merluza and make Thai fishcakes served with a little Thai salad and a nice spicy dip.

As a Brit I always feel bad at the lack of respect we show to fish. Considering our island is surrounded by water it seems odd that we do not eat more fish than we do but prefer to export it to the four corners of the globe. Thank goodness our Spanish cousins take up the slack on that front and if it swims in water and blows bubbles they just cannot get enough of it!