Yellowtail is a confusing name, as it can apply to flounder, tuna and sole. It’s also the common name for several species of amberjack, sleek migratory tuna-like fish found off both U.S. coasts. The most valuable member of this family is the yellowtail farmed in Japan and featured in U.S. sushi bars under the name hamachi. The fish is prized for eating raw and commands a premium price in Japanese markets. Raised in cages in Japan’s Inland Sea, hamachi are harvested at around 15 to 20 pounds. Upon harvesting, the fish are iced and handled with great care to prevent bruising of the flesh, which lowers its value as sashimi. A small amount of hamachi is harvested wild off the coast of central Japan. Another yellowtail species (Seriola lalandei) is harvested wild off southern California and Baja, California and farmed in Mexico and Australia. While amberjacks are subject to parasite infestation in the wild, this is not a problem with farmed hamachi.
The Japanese amberjack or yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata, is a species of jack fish in the family Carangidae. It is native to the northwest Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Hawaii.
It is greatly appreciated in Japan, where it is called hamachi or buri (鰤). These fish are eaten either cooked or raw, and are a seasonal favourite in the colder months when the meat has a higher fat content. Amberjack is typically thought of as a winter delicacy of Toyama and the Hokuriku region. Although it is frequently listed on menus as "yellowtail tuna", it is a fish of an entirely different family, the Carangidae, rather than the family Scombridae that includes tunas, mackerels, and bonitos.[3]
Some of the fish consumed are caught wild, but a substantial amount is farmed (about 120,000 tonnes per year). To populate the pens, every May, workers fish for the small wild fry (called mojako), which can be found under floating seaweed. They scoop out the seaweed together with the mojako and put the mojako in cages in the sea.[4]
The small fry grow until they reach 10 to 50 grams in mass; the fry are called inada in eastern Japan (Kantō). They are then sold to aquaculturists, who grow them until they reach 3 kilograms (youth) called hamachi, or 5 kilograms (adult) called buri. These days, most aquaculturists use extruded pellets to feed the fish.
