Sushi Grade

2008-02-20 Sushi Grade Edit of 3, originally uploaded by jessica_beagan.

Most of the fish that are caught are by-catch. Everything is useful to someone, but much of what you catch isn't worth anything to you. Bluefish get crudely gaffed and tossed into a bucket. They will become chum for a later shark- and tuna-fishing expedition.

The fluke are handled more delicately. So that they remain sushi grade, they are bled out with a stab to the heart, up under the gills. Bleeding the tender whitefish removes the blood that causes lividity, and the quality of the filet to plummet.

It will be served tonight, prepared with care in a sparkling white minimalist sushi restaurant, in a quiet far from the turmoil that led it there.