How The Desperate Norwegian Salmon Industry Created A Sushi Staple

Like shrimp and tuna, salmon is very popular with Americans. Diners love it even as sushi. But in sushi's birthplace, Japan, raw salmon wasn't always on the menu. Jess Jiang of our Planet Money podcast has the story of salmon sushi's rocky start.

JESS JIANG, BYLINE: Shimao Ishikawa has been a sushi chef for over 40 years. He works at a sushi restaurant in Manhattan called Jewel Bako. Ishikawa's served and eaten all the hard-core things, like sea urchin, poisonous blowfish. But in all his years as a sushi chef, he's never taken a single bite of one of his best sellers, raw salmon.

SHIMAO ISHIKAWA: I will not eat salmon, no.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Alabama Public Radio