Toro, the Kobe beef of fish, is the extremely pricey, highly coveted, fattiest part of a bluefin tuna. The species is so prized for its lush belly meat that in the past century, it has been severely overfished. Of equal concern, it also contains among the highest mercury levels of any seafood.
But now a farm-raised bluefin called Kindai - the first ever raised in captivity from the egg - offers what some consider a promising new alternative.
"It's not just a fish. The story behind the fish is very important, too," said Glenn Sakata, IMP branch manager, who has been importing Kindai since February. "It is the hope of the future. At this point, it's the only hope."
After the fish is cut, each section is labeled with a handwritten piece of paper indicating its weight and which restaurant it will go to. The more fat a piece has, the more expensive it is. Top restaurants are willing to pay a dear sum for this exclusive fish - $40 to $70 a pound wholesale.
Kinki University Fisheries Laboratory in Wakayama finally succeeded in raising the fish from eggs in pens in the Pacific waters. But only 1.5 percent of the egg population survives to adulthood, according to Mika Higurashi, project leader at IMP for the Kindai.
Since the 1970s, the Atlantic population of wild bluefin alone has declined by nearly 90 percent, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. In the past, environmental organizations have called for a five-year moratorium on fishing, but to no avail because bluefin is just too valuable.
"l love wild bluefin toro, but I finally just had to back off from it," Chef David Kinch said. "With Kindai, nobody has ever raised it from the embryonic stage until now, which could lead to true sustainability."
Read the full story here.
New York Times Article on Kinki University Fisheries Laboratory
1 comment:
Any local restaurants have this on the menu that you know of? Would love to try it if I could afford it ;o)
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