Hawaii Yellowtail only US farmed fish recommended in sushi guide
USA: Recently three leading ocean conservation organizations -Blue Ocean Institute, Environmental Defense Fund and the Monterey Bay Aquarium - made color-coded consumer guides ranking popular sushi selections available to the public (see FFX Oct 16, 2008). The only farmed fish from the United States making the "good" list is Yellowtail.
The guides are based on whether the sushi is prepared using seafood that's caught or farmed in ways that harm the ocean or pose a health risk to people. Kona Blue Water Farms' Yellowtail, grown in Hawaii, was the only US farmed fish found to meet the three organizations' standards for "Good Alternative".
The sushi cards states that "Yellowtail is farmed in the US in a more environmentally responsible way than in other regions of the world." The cards therefore recommend that consumers avoid farmed yellowtail from Japan and Australia due to concerns about environmental impact and a high reliance of wild-caught fish in feed.
Yellowtail, otherwise known as hamachi, kampachi or kanpachi, is a popular menu item in sushi restaurants. Currently, the sole product that this positive ranking applies to is Kona Kampachi, a Hawaiian yellowtail sustainably farmed in Hawaii by Kona Blue. Although Seafood Watch does not make recommendations about specific aquaculture producers, Kona Blue is the only yellowtail farm currently operating in the United States.
