What does it take to produce this international cornucopia of fish and rice? According to "The Sushi Economy," a worldwide network of fishermen, wholesalers, ranchers, and chefs, many of whom combine old-school relationships and recipes with the newest technologies and techniques. This combination, Issenberg argues, makes sushi a promising manifestation of the new economy, proof positive "that a virtuous global commerce and food culture can exist."
For much of "The Sushi Economy," this exuberance rings true. Issenberg tells the story of sushi past and present through a series of portraits of people and places. His cross-continental leaps back and forth among fishermen, fish markets, and fish restaurants can be choppy and confusing, but he tells a lot of good stories along the way.
Much of "The Sushi Economy" focuses on bluefin tuna . Japan Airlines employee Akira Okazaki invented the global tuna trade in the 1960s, when he realized that the tuna Canadian fishermen were throwing away could fill the freight decks of flights returning to Japan from dropping off electronic consumer goods in North America.
Today, when tuna wholesaler Haruo Matsui makes his daily rounds at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, he can choose wild Atlantic tuna from Gloucester dealers Mark Godfrie d and Bob Kliss, or tuna farmed in the Pacific by Australian multi millionaire ranchers Joe Puglisi and Tony Santic. Meanwhile, back in the Mediterranean, tuna-ranching consultant Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi keeps busy tracking tuna pirates who attempt to evade fishing quotas and restrictions by sneaking their catch in through such places as Libya and Gibraltar that are less attentive to the law.
Issenberg explains how sushi arrived in Los Angeles in the 1960s, becoming ubiquitous during the health- and status-conscious '80s. Nobu Matsuhisa arrived in Los Angeles via a Tokyo suburb, Peru, Buenos Aires, and Anchorage, where he mined local ingredients and cooking techniques. As he opened restaurants around the world, his company standardized its fusion sushi: at the 14th Nobu, in the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, the only local fish on the menu is conch.
