Miyagi salmon is a brand of fresh silver salmon (Coho salmon) farmed in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. This salmon maintains its original flavor after being fished, making it suitable for raw consumption.

History and Cultivation

Salmon has been a staple in Japan's diet since the Jomon period. Coho salmon (silver salmon) is a cold-water fish native to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the North Pacific Ocean and was not native to Japan. However, due to its fast growth, it was considered suitable for aquaculture, and the first full-scale fish farming began in Miyagi Prefecture in the 1970s.

Starting around 1996, raw feed was converted to artificial compound feed using extrusion molding technology to eliminate odor and improve taste. During the same period, meat firming techniques were also developed to preserve freshness, and farmed Coho salmon production for raw consumption was intensified.

To tighten the flesh, the central nervous system of the fish is disrupted with a piercing tool (gimlet), the blood is removed, and the fish is transferred to a seawater tank kept at approximately 5°C (45°F) or lower. While eating raw Coho salmon has historically been a tradition in Miyagi Prefecture, since the early 1990s, the Miyagi Prefectural Fisheries Cooperative Federation has promoted raw salmon consumption as part of its plans to increase demand.

^{About Miyagi Salmon (地理的表示産品情報発信サイト)}

Features and Quality

One of the distinctive characteristics of Miyagi salmon is its ability to grasp the knife when filleting, leaving it shiny and taut after the process. Due to its freshness, the fish is considered a "raw salmon."

Production Area and Environmental Conditions

The production area for Miyagi salmon is the northern coastline of the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture. This region is a Rias coast with deep water, tides, and a bay suitable for fish farming. Sea temperatures remain 20 degrees Celsius or lower until the end of July. Numerous seed and seedling production factories (artificial hatching - raising fry) are located in the Zao Mountains, where abundant water from melting snow is used. Because the fry can be quickly transported from these facilities to surface farms, the region offers a suitable environment for Coho salmon farming.