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Sustainable sushi: Mackerel's in, octopus and tuna are out??

wtopnews.com — These tips and others on ocean-friendly sushi are now available in pocket guides that are being published this month by three conservation groups. The sustainability guides are the first specifically for sushi, listing fish by their Japanese and English names.

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  • WordsnCollision, on 10/09/2008, -15/+10Octopus and tuna (unless it's the good, fatty Toro tuna) really don't make good sushi IMHO. Neither does mackerel but salmon sure does.
    • AmyVernon, on 10/09/2008, -4/+15I loooooove tuna sushi. Salmon and eel (mmmmmmm, eel) are my faves. But I like octopus well enough...
      • Meocross, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2I lost my appetite when i saw the slime eels, JESUS CHRIST do they ever release the slime.
    • willynilly, on 10/10/2008, -4/+14Because we're so interested in your personal tastes.
    • Wakkyweed, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3You're right, octopus does make for pretty lousy sushi. However, combine it with some cucumber, seaweed, rice vinegar and sesame seeds and it makes a hell of a salad!
    • maz2331, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2Spicy Tuna is the only sushi worthy of the time to seek it out.
  • implicitmemory, on 10/10/2008, -2/+10Quizzing sushi chefs on where the fish came from is a great tip - Filed for future use.
  • stignordas, on 10/10/2008, -1/+13the only place i like to see octopus is wrapped in nori on a wooden slat.
  • michaelpinto, on 10/10/2008, -18/+11It's much more eco-friendly if you eat veggie sushi - besides the mercury content in most fish can be quite bad for you: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/sushi.a ...
    • AmyVernon, on 10/10/2008, -3/+10but fish sushi tastes SO much better...
    • rvandy, on 10/10/2008, -6/+4but not destroying the environment is SO much more important...
      • AmyVernon, on 10/10/2008, -1/+3Wow. I guess I really do have to write "/jk" after a joke.
      • Wakkyweed, on 10/11/2008, -1/+4It's possible to fish sustainably if goverenments get off their collective asses and properly regulate their fisheries. That way you can have your fish and eat it too!

        If I see one more fisherman on the news saying, "My grandfather fished for cod, and my father fished for cod, but now the government is trying to take my business away" I'm going to track him down and smack him upside the head with a mackerel. How the hell do these people expect to continue fishing after they've almost completely depleted fish stocks?
      • stonewall123, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3Wakkyweed, I think you hit the nail on the head. We do need to regulate the fisheries more. One good way to do so seems to through creation of marine protected zones that create safe havens for breeding stock. Interestingly, while many fisherman have been historically opposed to the creation of these protected zones it is along the borders of these protected areas that they flock to and where the largest most abundant fish can be caught.
        http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/~pel/environment/mpa_l ...
      • tian2992, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3@Wakkyweed
        but i thought Government was EVIL and free market solves everything, they should liberalize the fishing the natural balance would take care of it
        /Sarcasm & troll mode off
    • JigoroKano, on 10/10/2008, -1/+9Most fish? Sorry, no. Game fish have the high mercury content because they are at the top of the food chain. Most fish are not game fish. That isn't even possible ecologically.
      • michaelpinto, on 10/10/2008, -0/+2I'm not a fish expert - but my understanding is that tuna which is quite popular does have quite a bit of mercury. Of course it depends on how much of this stuff you're eating - I'm not sure if in a recession we'll see many folks eating fish sushi once a day...
      • JigoroKano, on 10/11/2008, -0/+5Large tuna are game fish.

        Yellowfins, for instance, eat other fish. The higher up in the food chain, the more ***** you collect like mercury.
    • singularityv, on 10/10/2008, -8/+2Yeah, you just keep buying into that mercury lie invented by radical animal rights groups.

      And ***** being eco-friendly. I'll eat what I damn well like.
      • Wakkyweed, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3Yeah! I'll eat what I damn well like too!

        Unfortunately for you, I prefer cannibalism. Nothing tastes better than a right-wing wacko who's been skinned while still alive and then slowly barbecued till the meat falls off the bone. Yummers!
  • willynilly, on 10/10/2008, -8/+43It's much more eco-friendly if you regurgitate your sushi into the mouth of an endangered baby bird.

    Then shoot a Republican.
  • JigoroKano, on 10/10/2008, -4/+5Blue fin tuna is being fished to endangerment, while the almost as delicious farm raised salmon is readily available.
    And all because of consumption trends in Japan.
    • JoeMax, on 10/11/2008, -1/+5Farmed raised salmon is a definite "red" list item too. The aquaculture methods used to raise it are not very environmentally friendly, among the problems with the farms is they often create dead zones around them and are believed to be a cause of increased parasitic infestations/diseases in the non-chemically treated natural population.

      A better solution is to enjoy some natural Alaskan Salmon (much tastier) or Arctic Char (sustainably raised).
    • cosmicsmudge, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2Yeah, I would rethink your position on farm-raised salmon. Some good resources are available here: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fish/fish-farming

      The best solution is to support legislation conservation efforts that protect and restore the natural salmon's habitat -- the coastal waters of the pacific northwest and the basins and rivers that they return to each year to spawn.
  • LilPuke, on 10/10/2008, -2/+22I think they changed the link: http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=773&sid=1494 ...
    • MariusAgricola, on 10/10/2008, -0/+6Not sure why you're being buried. The link at the top doesn't work for me either. Thanks for a working link.
  • singularityv, on 10/10/2008, -3/+3Yum...I _love_ mackerel sushi.

    Tuna is pretty awesome too, especially tuna tataki.
  • mrgodai, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3horse and deer sushi on the way to the US

    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/business/worldbu ...
  • Robcn643, on 10/11/2008, -7/+3This is ridiculous, It really gets to me when these blowhards try to ruin a good thing. Too much mercury! overfishing!
    Its all your fault for indulging every once and a while.
    Keep eating your fish. The world will not end and I promise there will be more for dinner tomorrow
    • BillehBob, on 10/11/2008, -1/+5Do some minor research and you will find that many of top level fish species have been over fished severely. Particularly cod stock in the north Atlantic has flat lined in just one generation of fishermen, even to the point that there is doubt they will even be able to bounce back. And cod is not alone. Blue fin tuna, monk fish and many other species are in trouble.
      This has nothing to do with being a blowhard, but these are scientific facts if you would bother to look a little deeper than your own ignorance.
      Yes, there are still fish species you can eat and you should not stop enjoying sea food. But the naive notion that fish is eternally abundant has been proven wrong over and over by now.
      Blame ignorant politicians for not setting proper policies and ignoring facts that, had they been taking into account earlier, might have prevented the decimation that has been going on for too long.
      By all means, eat fish, but educate yourselves at least somewhat so you know what you are eating and where it comes from.
    • Coffeedemon, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3Have a ***** clue to go with your overpriced sushi because you don't know *****. I remember a time when cod could be caught off any wharf in my hometown in Newfoundland. Look up the cod moratorium and you'll see where that all went. We're well on our way with a lot more species than that and a lot of them contribute to food for the entire planet.
  • lordmetroid, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3Mmm, saba, my favorite... Though I need the mushi ebi, tako and tsuna as well. Can't be without any of em. I want to eat them all!
  • kent1146, on 10/11/2008, -2/+5This article reeks of Western thinking.

    As an Asian man, I can tell you that other Asians are thinking that they'd better order MORE octopus and tuna, so that they can eat it all before they become extinct.
    • edebolt, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3so true!!!!! regards from Thailand... Most Asian cultures think more in the moment. Enjoy life now!!!!!
    • oda1, on 10/11/2008, -2/+4Your Asian? great, please help me decipher this message, sometimes I take a walking shortcut on my Asian neighbors grass, he yells
      "Dat Now Fow Wahkeen! Stoopid Gey!"
    • TheNWO, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3So basically you are saying that your culture is selfish and not forward thinking? You are everything the left falsely says that America is, congratulations!
      • publiclurker, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3People like you always claim that American culture is the bast and everyone should emulate it. Now that you can actually get a good look at yourself, you don't really like what you see do you?
      • TheNWO, on 10/11/2008, -2/+3I see myself calling out some ***** who doesn't care if a species protected by any western nation is going to go extinct if the consumption of the said species doesn't go down to a reasonable level. What's wrong with what I said?

        And I didn't say that American culture is the best and that everyone should emulate it. I do believe that America, every country in Europe (minus Russia), Japan, Australia, and Canada the types of countries that are forces for good in the world even though every country mentioned does something that isn't really desirable. To be honest I have problems with the countries like Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, China, Russia. The American position (one shared by much of the rest of the leaders of the western world) is that some of these countries can be pacified and moderated by integrating them with the global economy. In Saudi Arabia's case the west felt that it needed their oil too much. In the case of others who haven't got enough redeeming qualities to outweigh their negatives (Cuba, North Korea, Iran) we rightfully isolate them. Is this a smart strategy? Probably not as wise it must've seemed at the time, given that Russia and China are now dealing with our enemies and there is nothing that we can do about it. But whatever.
      • singularityv, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Selfishness is a virtue.

        Those Asians are to be revered.
    • singularityv, on 10/12/2008, -0/+1Wow, I like the Asian way of thinking!
  • WhiteMike87, on 10/11/2008, -2/+4No more spicy tuna rolls? There is no God...
  • oda1, on 10/11/2008, -3/+3Is it Ethical to eat Octopus? They've been known to be extremely smart.
    They'd probably have taken over the world long ago, if it wasn't for the sad fact that their life span is 3 years or so.

    Look it up, the more you learn!
    • JigoroKano, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3Pigs are smart too.
    • CrushThemTorg, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3Pigs aren't smart, they're just curious. Sure, they're smarter than a cow, but they're not gonna be competing with your dog in an IQ contest.

      Octopus have an incredible capacity to learn and solve problems. This is exactly why I love octopus sushi – I like the idea of eating a clever animal. It's like triumphing over nature in my own little way.
  • Alekos23, on 10/11/2008, -4/+1EAT EM ALL!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAH
  • protodon, on 10/11/2008, -1/+3Too bad I don't like Mackerel. I just don't like that shiny skin!
  • goosman99, on 10/11/2008, -1/+2I'll believe it when I see that the Unification Church is buying up horse and deer farms.......
  • Wakkyweed, on 10/11/2008, -1/+4Thank God that sea urchin isn't on the list!

    NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!
  • UrinalPooper, on 10/11/2008, -1/+4Mackerel is the only kind of sushi i DON'T like...

    Uni on the other hand, that stuff is %(*&ing divine.
  • Typhoon2009, on 10/11/2008, -2/+4EEL IS SURPRISINGLY GOOD, I THINK AS SASHIMI, THE KIND WHERE THE MEAT SITS ON A BED OF RICE
  • palehorse864, on 10/11/2008, -1/+2Hmm the article mentions horse and deer. They think we're so dumb they can serve us a big slice of stupid?

    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Transwiki:Baka_(Japa ...
  • JoeMax, on 10/11/2008, -1/+2Finally! the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great informational piece with their current seafood card: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwa ... The addition of a sushi card with both American common and Japanese names listed is a welcome addition.

    Having this card with you at the grocery makes selecting fish a little easier. Now all that's needed is some more publicity.
  • veled, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3Darn. I LIKE Octopus sashimi.

    Wonder if Squid is still okay...
  • bonds, on 10/11/2008, -1/+2Delicious sushi in, pocket guides out
  • htan, on 10/11/2008, -0/+3mackerel has such a nice, slightly fishy taste to it
  • razorsedge555, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2No sushi to be found on that page, buried.
  • cosmicsmudge, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2hmm, looks like they changed the link. bury.
  • DulcetTone, on 10/11/2008, -1/+1If I have to kill off some species to avoid eating mackerel, so be it.
  • misskari, on 10/11/2008, -0/+4Vinegared Mackeral (Shime Saba) is my favorite kind of sushi. Please try it.

    It's cheap, too.. you can get it at asian grocers in the frozen foods. Just thaw it for a day in the fridge, slice and serve.

    Octopus hurts my jaw. You have to chew it for, like, an hour.
  • ViperX116, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2They'll have to pry the fried octopus from my deliciously greasy hands.
  • HardChargerxxx, on 10/11/2008, -0/+2Dugg for WTOP making the front page.
  •  

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