New Sustainable Sushi Guides

First and foremost, THE PARTY: To kick off the release of their newest Seafood Watch Sustainable Seafood Guide FOR SUSHI, the Monterey Bay Aquarium will sponsor a "virtual sushi party" via Facebook from Oct. 22 to Oct. 28. The idea is to grab your hot-off-the-presses sustainable sushi guide and bring it along to eat some fresh sushi -- selecting only THAT WHICH IS DEEMED SUSTAINABLE. The event page is HERE, but you'll have to be a member of Facebook to view it.

There's been quite a bit of chatter online and various news articles written about these new guides. Everybody seems to love sushi these days. Living in Japan, sushi is not an everyday food for me or for most. Yet that said, discount sushi such as that found at a kaiten-zushi conveyor-belt sushi establishment is readily and greedily consumed by all. Despite its inferior taste, it fits the bill for families and those of us that lack the means to enjoy a proper sushi meal. Below is a shot of me eating some unsustainable sushi (no more!) at my local sushi spot.

A sushi pic from a local restaurant in Sapporo, Japan

Interestingly, with few exceptions, the place of origin of the sliced and diced raw fish goes unmentioned at both inexpensive and upscale sushi restaurants in Japan. Why is this disconnect between the fish and his origin allowed for a food where quality would seem to be paramount? For most domestic Japanese seafood, and food in general, the place of origin is intimately related to its quality (think Kobe beef), with certain areas and even singular towns being associated with certain shellfish and fish. Yet sushi restaurants do not advertise this information whereas other restaurants do. I'd say the situation is about the same in the US. While many restaurants will offer the origin of their fish and shellfish (such as NC clams or NC red snapper), sushi usually goes anonymous. I guess we just have to trust them...

OR NOT! With the new sustainable sushi guides, we can make sushi selections that support both a sustainable use of the ocean's resources -- and our own personal health. There are three versions of the guide due to the slightly different tabulation methods of each organization. All will be available from Oct. 22 online!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's guide will be available HERE.

The Blue Ocean Institute's guide will be found HERE.

The Environmental Defense Fund's guide will be located HERE.