At the request of other forum members I am starting this thread on learning about sustainable seafood/sushi options and how to implement them into your personal or professional lives.
(From wikipedia)
Sustainable seafood is seafood that is either caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.
To give a little background on me I am sushi chef at one of the very few fully sustainable sushi bars http://mashikorestaurant.com/ in the world much less the USA. We went sustainable in 2009. It was difficult at first but it forced us to seek out a larger variety of seafood to introduce to the public. If you go to a typical high end sushi bar you will pretty often only see about the same 15 or so fish.
Maguro (Yellowfin, Bigeye, Bluefin)
Yellowfin - many of the stocks are overfished, mostly poor catching practices, slave fisheries in southeast Asia, difficult traceability.
Bigeye - depending on fishing practices and catch location can be an ok choice. Pacific is best and pole caught.
Bluefin - critically endangered species, ranched juveniles caught at sea and fattened up in pens. Tons of antibiotics and growth hormone.
Toro (fatty bluefin tuna belly) see bluefin above
Albacore
Hamachi (yellowtail) Ranched juveniles caught at sea and fattened up in pens. Tons of antibiotics and growth hormone.
Farmed Atlantic Salmon
- mostly farmed in poor conditions with lots of environmental waste, tons of antibiotics and growth, artificially dyed. Invasive species risk when not farmed on east coast.
Medai (red sea bream) farmed with lots of environmental waste
Unagi (eel) - critically endangered species, juveniles caught at sea and fattened up in pens. Tons of antibiotics and growth hormone. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-eel-is-in-danger-of-extinction/
Ebi (Prawns) - Mostly Farmed in southeast asia. Heavy use of antibiotics, slave labor, destruction of mangroves. https://oceana.org/blog/5-facts-will-make-you-think-twice-about-eating-imported-farm-raised-shrimp
Amaebi (spot prawns)
Hotate (Scallops) usually a good choice but can sometimes be treatment with plumping agents/preservatives
Saba- (Norwegian Mackerel)
Kohada (Gizzard Shad) - mostly farmed in poor conditions with lots of environmental waste
Aji (horse mackerel, technically a jack though)-mostly farmed in poor conditions with lots of environmental waste
Uni (sea uchin roe) - many times served out of season and treated with preservatives plus large carbon footprint to export
Geoduck
Hokkigai (surf clam) - power hoses used to destroy beach to harvest the clams
Ikura (salmon roe)
Tako (octopus) - bottom trawled off the unregulated African coast. Reefs and seafloor are decimated. Large carbon footprint
Ika (squid)
Ankimo (monkfish liver)
We on the other hand will have a few that are consistent but are always changing seasonally or what ever interesting sustainable choice we can find. We don't put anything on the menu that we can't trace it's origin, fishing or practices. We don't accept the sales reps word completely and do our own independent research to verify as well. Our list is more like this. We may only have about 3/4 of this at one time due to seasonality and availability.
Northwest Albacore
Northwest Albacore Toro
Hawaiian Albacore
Katsuo (Skipjack Tuna)
Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
Alaskan Coho Salmon
Alaskan White King Salmon
House cured Ikura (varies from sockeye/coho/king roe what ever we can get)
Farmed Rainbow Trout (Closed system farm in Idaho, they swim in certified drinking water)
Broken Shell Geoduck (they would normally be discarded because they are not pretty but are perfectly good to eat)
Horse clam (another local giant clam commonly viewed as a trash species but is one of the sweetest tasting clams)
Alaskan Spot Prawns
Alaskan Giant Pacific Octopus (bi-catch from spot prawn fishing)
Alaskan Black Cod
Alaskan Dungeness Crab
Hawaiian Ono
Hawaiian Mahimahi
Pacific Ocean Whitefish (tilefish family)
Sheepshead (wrasse family)
Florida Blue Runner (Shima aji in Japan) Considered a trash/bait fish in the US.
Nishin (local herring)
Ocean Smelt
Aji (horse mackerel) - closed system farm
Iwashi (local sardine)
Maine Ankimo (Monkfish Liver) only when in season, winter
Local Oysters
Bai Gai (white sea snails)
Periwinkles (small sea snails)
Ezo Awabi (abalone from Kona) Closed system farm in Kona
Gooseneck Barnacles (Mexico)
San Juan Islands Uni (sea urchin) delivered live direct from the diver.
Ika (squid) New England
Oregon Bay Shrimp
Hokkaido Scallops
Nihotate (whole hokkaido scallops)
Maine Dayboat drypack scallops
Wild Gulf Shrimp
Wild Baja Yellowtail
Namagi (South Carolina Catfish) this is our unagi substitute.
Some resources:
http://www.seachoice.org/info-centre/aquaculture/aquaculture-methods/
https://thefishsite.com/articles/warnings-of-sodium-tripolyphosphate-in-fish
https://www.seafoodwatch.org/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556437692/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Things you can do to help:
Ask you fish monger, chef, seafood rep, or sushi chef;
Where is this from?
How was it caught?
What farming practices were used?
What kind of feed are they using?
What's the pound to pound feed to fish yield ratio? (example: it takes 15-20lbs of mackerel feed to make 1lbs of tuna)
Do they use dyes, hormones or antibiotics?
Do they use any preservatives?
Has this been carbon monoxide gassed? (lots of cheap tuna and hamachi are to preserve color)
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/tunas-red-glare-it-could-be-carbon-monoxide.html
Eat smaller fish. Lower on the food chain the better. They have high reproduction rates and in my opinion way tastier than tuna.
Eat more clams, oysters, mussels. These populations are healthy and farming has minimal impact on environment.
Try new things. Don't be scared of snails, barnacles, abalone. They taste like clams and shrimp combined.
This is just the beginning of this discussion. Sustainable seafood is a moving target and has to kept up with regularly. Stocks go down, some replenish, better farms are being created. If everyone is more aware and does something to help it can make a big impact. Feel free to ask any question or even email my boss at the restaurant. He is always happy to help. Here's an old video of him.
http://www.deepseanews.com/2010/09/how-one-sushi-chef-transitioned-to-sustainability/
(From wikipedia)
Sustainable seafood is seafood that is either caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted through the sustainable seafood movement which began in the 1990s. This operation highlights overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Through a number of initiatives, the movement has increased awareness and raised concerns over the way our seafood is obtained.
To give a little background on me I am sushi chef at one of the very few fully sustainable sushi bars http://mashikorestaurant.com/ in the world much less the USA. We went sustainable in 2009. It was difficult at first but it forced us to seek out a larger variety of seafood to introduce to the public. If you go to a typical high end sushi bar you will pretty often only see about the same 15 or so fish.
Maguro (Yellowfin, Bigeye, Bluefin)
Yellowfin - many of the stocks are overfished, mostly poor catching practices, slave fisheries in southeast Asia, difficult traceability.
Bigeye - depending on fishing practices and catch location can be an ok choice. Pacific is best and pole caught.
Bluefin - critically endangered species, ranched juveniles caught at sea and fattened up in pens. Tons of antibiotics and growth hormone.
Toro (fatty bluefin tuna belly) see bluefin above
Albacore
Hamachi (yellowtail) Ranched juveniles caught at sea and fattened up in pens. Tons of antibiotics and growth hormone.
Farmed Atlantic Salmon
- mostly farmed in poor conditions with lots of environmental waste, tons of antibiotics and growth, artificially dyed. Invasive species risk when not farmed on east coast.
Medai (red sea bream) farmed with lots of environmental waste
Unagi (eel) - critically endangered species, juveniles caught at sea and fattened up in pens. Tons of antibiotics and growth hormone. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-eel-is-in-danger-of-extinction/
Ebi (Prawns) - Mostly Farmed in southeast asia. Heavy use of antibiotics, slave labor, destruction of mangroves. https://oceana.org/blog/5-facts-will-make-you-think-twice-about-eating-imported-farm-raised-shrimp
Amaebi (spot prawns)
Hotate (Scallops) usually a good choice but can sometimes be treatment with plumping agents/preservatives
Saba- (Norwegian Mackerel)
Kohada (Gizzard Shad) - mostly farmed in poor conditions with lots of environmental waste
Aji (horse mackerel, technically a jack though)-mostly farmed in poor conditions with lots of environmental waste
Uni (sea uchin roe) - many times served out of season and treated with preservatives plus large carbon footprint to export
Geoduck
Hokkigai (surf clam) - power hoses used to destroy beach to harvest the clams
Ikura (salmon roe)
Tako (octopus) - bottom trawled off the unregulated African coast. Reefs and seafloor are decimated. Large carbon footprint
Ika (squid)
Ankimo (monkfish liver)
We on the other hand will have a few that are consistent but are always changing seasonally or what ever interesting sustainable choice we can find. We don't put anything on the menu that we can't trace it's origin, fishing or practices. We don't accept the sales reps word completely and do our own independent research to verify as well. Our list is more like this. We may only have about 3/4 of this at one time due to seasonality and availability.
Northwest Albacore
Northwest Albacore Toro
Hawaiian Albacore
Katsuo (Skipjack Tuna)
Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
Alaskan Coho Salmon
Alaskan White King Salmon
House cured Ikura (varies from sockeye/coho/king roe what ever we can get)
Farmed Rainbow Trout (Closed system farm in Idaho, they swim in certified drinking water)
Broken Shell Geoduck (they would normally be discarded because they are not pretty but are perfectly good to eat)
Horse clam (another local giant clam commonly viewed as a trash species but is one of the sweetest tasting clams)
Alaskan Spot Prawns
Alaskan Giant Pacific Octopus (bi-catch from spot prawn fishing)
Alaskan Black Cod
Alaskan Dungeness Crab
Hawaiian Ono
Hawaiian Mahimahi
Pacific Ocean Whitefish (tilefish family)
Sheepshead (wrasse family)
Florida Blue Runner (Shima aji in Japan) Considered a trash/bait fish in the US.
Nishin (local herring)
Ocean Smelt
Aji (horse mackerel) - closed system farm
Iwashi (local sardine)
Maine Ankimo (Monkfish Liver) only when in season, winter
Local Oysters
Bai Gai (white sea snails)
Periwinkles (small sea snails)
Ezo Awabi (abalone from Kona) Closed system farm in Kona
Gooseneck Barnacles (Mexico)
San Juan Islands Uni (sea urchin) delivered live direct from the diver.
Ika (squid) New England
Oregon Bay Shrimp
Hokkaido Scallops
Nihotate (whole hokkaido scallops)
Maine Dayboat drypack scallops
Wild Gulf Shrimp
Wild Baja Yellowtail
Namagi (South Carolina Catfish) this is our unagi substitute.
Some resources:
http://www.seachoice.org/info-centre/aquaculture/aquaculture-methods/
https://thefishsite.com/articles/warnings-of-sodium-tripolyphosphate-in-fish
https://www.seafoodwatch.org/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556437692/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Things you can do to help:
Ask you fish monger, chef, seafood rep, or sushi chef;
Where is this from?
How was it caught?
What farming practices were used?
What kind of feed are they using?
What's the pound to pound feed to fish yield ratio? (example: it takes 15-20lbs of mackerel feed to make 1lbs of tuna)
Do they use dyes, hormones or antibiotics?
Do they use any preservatives?
Has this been carbon monoxide gassed? (lots of cheap tuna and hamachi are to preserve color)
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/tunas-red-glare-it-could-be-carbon-monoxide.html
Eat smaller fish. Lower on the food chain the better. They have high reproduction rates and in my opinion way tastier than tuna.
Eat more clams, oysters, mussels. These populations are healthy and farming has minimal impact on environment.
Try new things. Don't be scared of snails, barnacles, abalone. They taste like clams and shrimp combined.
This is just the beginning of this discussion. Sustainable seafood is a moving target and has to kept up with regularly. Stocks go down, some replenish, better farms are being created. If everyone is more aware and does something to help it can make a big impact. Feel free to ask any question or even email my boss at the restaurant. He is always happy to help. Here's an old video of him.
http://www.deepseanews.com/2010/09/how-one-sushi-chef-transitioned-to-sustainability/
