Sushi Economics: From Ocean to Plate

The Rise of Sushi in America

In the heart of Nebraska, along Highway 64, nestled between a tattoo parlor and a cannabis dispensary, you'll find an unexpected culinary gem - Yoshi Tomo. This sushi restaurant, opened in 2017 by David Utterback, aims to prove that high-quality sushi isn't limited to coastal cities.

Utterback's mission is clear: "We've got all the nigiri, sashimi, and sushi rolls... We've got items like our ham, which is essentially a yellowtail Hamachi sushi bite that's been kind of reworked."

The presence of such a restaurant in Omaha is a testament to how far sushi has come in America. Once an exotic cuisine limited to major coastal cities, sushi can now be found in nearly every corner of the country. But how did this transformation occur, and what are the economic forces driving the sushi industry today?

The History of Sushi

Sushi, as we know it today, has its roots in 19th century Japan. Initially, it was a humble street food, comparable to hot dogs in New York or Chicago. Sasha Eisenberg, author of "The Sushi Economy," explains:

"It was a cheap workperson's food that you would eat on the go, that people would grab on their way home from work."

However, as Japan prepared for World War II, sushi vendors moved indoors, and the cuisine began to take on a more luxurious image. The familiar sushi bar setup - with its glass case and counter seating - emerged during this period.

In the post-war years, as Japan opened up its economy and became a leader in electronics, Japanese culture, including sushi, attracted international interest. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, modern sushi bars began appearing in major cities worldwide.

The Rise of Bluefin Tuna

One fish that became particularly desirable during this period was the bluefin tuna. Once sold for pennies a pound to cat food manufacturers, bluefin tuna saw its value skyrocket as American and Japanese diners developed a taste for its oily, fatty meat.

Today, bluefin tuna is known as the "Diamond of the Sea," and its journey from ocean to plate involves a complex web of fishermen, dealers, wholesalers, and chefs.

The Fishing Process

Fishing for bluefin tuna is a high-stakes game. Fishermen often face strict catch quotas and can go days without a catch. However, landing a single bluefin can result in a payday worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The process of catching and preparing a bluefin tuna for market is intricate:

1. Fishermen must let the tuna swim around the boat after catching it to dissipate lactic acid in its blood.
2. Once brought aboard, the fish is quickly killed, gutted, and packed in ice.
3. The fisherman contacts a dealer, providing details about the catch's size, color, and fight duration.
4. The dealer decides whether to sell the fish locally or ship it to Japan for auction.

The Journey to Japan

If the dealer chooses to send the tuna to Japan, it's packed into a styrofoam container filled with ice and flown across the Pacific. Upon arrival, it's transported to the daily tuna auction at Tokyo's Toyosu Market.

The auction is a spectacle:

• Hundreds of tuna from around the world are laid out for inspection.
• Wholesalers representing restaurants and fish markets examine each fish.
• At 5:30 AM, bells clang, and the rapid-fire auction begins.
• Within 15-20 minutes, all fish are sold.

The American Sushi Market

While the Japanese market is significant, most tuna caught in the US stays in the country. Sushi is a $27 billion annual business in the US, with over 15,000 sushi restaurants nationwide.

To meet this demand, a vast network of distributors has emerged. One such distributor is Yama Seafood, run by Nobu Yamanashi. Yama Seafood supplies fish to around 800 clients, ranging from all-you-can-eat sushi bars to Michelin-starred restaurants.

Yamanashi explains the scale of their operation:

"We sell maybe 10 to 12,000 pounds of tuna every week, 25-30,000 pounds of salmon every week, thousands of pounds of Hamachi, thousand-plus trays of uni."

The Economics of Tuna

Unlike standardized commodities like wheat or corn, tuna pricing is highly variable. Factors affecting price include:

• Availability: The ocean's yield on any given day
• Origin: Wild-caught vs. farm-raised, location of catch
• Quality: Grade based on appearance, size, shape, color, texture, and fat content

Yamanashi notes that prices can range from $8 to $20 per pound for a whole fish, with specialty tuna from certain regions fetching even higher prices.

The Grading System

Tuna meat is graded based on several factors:

• Grade 1: Top-of-the-line, used for sushi and sashimi
• Grade 2 and 3: Less desirable, but still marketable

Yamanashi explains: "Number one would be your sushi restaurants... Number two doesn't mean it tastes bad, it just may not be aesthetically as pleasing."

The Risks of the Tuna Business

Buying tuna is inherently risky because fish are sold largely intact. Distributors like Yama Seafood don't know the true quality of the meat until they cut the fish open at their warehouse.

Sometimes, fish bought at Grade 1 prices turn out to be Grade 2 or lower, requiring renegotiation with brokers. Additionally, during the cutting process, much of the weight paid for is lost:

"You break down a fish... you lose about 50-60% of the fish. So if you're paying, let's say, $20 a pound for it, the actual cost of the fish is way more," Yamanashi explains.

The Value of Different Cuts

Once a tuna is cut up, each piece has a different market value:

• Toro (fatty belly): Highly valued
• Akami (leaner meat): Less expensive
• Zabuton (belly cut with lean part removed): Can fetch upwards of $40 per pound

A single 500-pound bluefin tuna might be split between 4 to 12 restaurants.

The Challenges of Distribution

Distributing fish to restaurants in a city like New York presents its own set of challenges. Yamanashi describes the process:

"Sometimes you're going up an elevator, sometimes you're crawling through these little tiny holes in the basement where you cannot hold a 3-foot, 4-foot wide box down the stairs."

Sushi Economics in Middle America

While coastal cities have easy access to fresh fish, sushi restaurants in the heartland face additional challenges. David Utterback of Yoshi Tomo in Omaha explains:

"Here in Middle America, there's a handful of wholesalers that run large regional warehouses, and they just run a giant semi all around the routes."

Utterback uses multiple vendors worldwide to source his fish, including specialty suppliers in Japan. However, this comes with additional costs:

"Getting sushi fish to Nebraska involves air freight costs, usually somewhere around 150 or 200 bucks for a 100-pound box."

These costs make it challenging to price sushi competitively in Omaha compared to coastal cities:

"In New York, one piece of tuna nigiri is maybe $8-9. Here, if I get that same tuna from Yama and I fly it over here, I have to give you two pieces, and I only get $8 for it because that's just how much things cost here."

The Role of Sushi Rolls

Despite the focus on high-quality fish, the economic engine of most sushi restaurants is the humble sushi roll. Utterback explains:

"The engine of the sushi restaurant is the sushi roll, and they're just like cheeseburgers, man. They don't cost terribly a lot to make. Your basic California roll costs maybe 90 cents to make, but you can turn that around for $8-9, sometimes more depending upon where you're at."

Rolls often subsidize the cost of more expensive, high-quality fish. Some rolls, like the popular spicy tuna roll, were even invented as a way to use less desirable cuts of fish:

"Spicy tuna was developed by American chefs and popularized because they realized that if you put a spicy sauce or mayonnaise or such on tuna, you can begin to mask an increasingly undesirable color or flavorless or maybe even smell," explains Eisenberg.

Inventory Management in Sushi Restaurants

Knowing how much fish to buy is a critical skill in the sushi business. Eisenberg suggests that an ideal situation would be to run out of fish:

"A good sushi restaurant should run out of things. A sushi bar that always has everything you want might not be handling its own business that well or might be serving you some stuff they're still trying to get rid of from a couple days ago."

The Marvel of Modern Sushi

Despite the complexities and challenges of the sushi industry, David Utterback still marvels at the process:

"It's crazy. 500 years ago, if you wanted an ingredient like a spice, 500 people would get on three ships, and like a 100 would come back, and you would have curry. Now, I can just send a text message to somebody who I've met just a handful of times in Japan, and I can get something extremely special that I can serve in the most landlocked state in our country."

This sentiment encapsulates the wonder of the modern sushi industry - a global network that brings fresh fish from the world's oceans to plates in the heart of America.

Conclusion

The economics of sushi is a complex dance of supply and demand, logistics, and culinary art. From the high-stakes gamble of tuna fishing to the precise cuts of a sushi chef, every step of the process involves careful calculation and risk.

As sushi continues to grow in popularity across America, the industry will likely face new challenges and opportunities. Rising concerns about overfishing and sustainability may reshape how we source fish for sushi. At the same time, advances in transportation and preservation technologies could make it easier to bring fresh fish to landlocked areas.

Regardless of how the industry evolves, one thing is clear: sushi has come a long way from its humble origins as Japanese street food. Today, it's a global phenomenon that connects fishermen, distributors, chefs, and diners in a complex web of commerce and culture. As Utterback puts it, "When you think about it, we eat better than any king or emperor in the history of humanity." And that, perhaps, is the true marvel of modern sushi economics.

Article created from: https://youtu.be/aN-fGMekuZM?feature=shared