Maruha Nichiro, one of Japan’s leading seafood companies, has released the results of its annual survey, ‘Consumer Survey 2022 on Kaitenzushi’.

According to the report, salmon ranked first as the most popular fish at Japanese conveyor-belt sushi (kaitenzushi). Salmon is the number one choice for both men and women, favoured among 17.8% men and 27.6% women.
This is the 11th consecutive year that salmon ranks number one.

Salmon is now a household name as a sushi ingredient. But actually, it was only after the mid-1980s that salmon began to be used as a sushi ingredient.

Species	Salmon		Chum Salmon
Name	Atlantic Salmon	Rainbow Trout	Chum Salmon
Image	Photo: Japan Fisheries and Education Agency	Photo: Japan Fisheries and Education Agency	Photo: Japan Fisheries and Education Agency
Habitat	North Atlantic Ocean	North America	Pacific Ocean, including Japan and USA
Characteristic	・Mostly cultivated ・Grows up eating ‘pellets’as food ・Can be eaten raw without being frozen because cultivation keeps them free from parasites		・Not cultivated ・Primary food sources include krill. ・Flesh’s red colour derived from astaxanthin, which is found in krill and other crustaceans. ・Not generally eaten raw as it may have parasites.
Food source	Photo: Norwegian government		Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Salmon vs. Chum Salmon

Atlantic salmon, which uses aquaculture technology to solve the parasite problem, was imported from Norway, Canada and other foreign countries, triggering the widespread use.

In other words, the history of salmon in Japanese sushi is only about 40 years old.

Of course, the culture of eating chum salmon has existed in Japan since ancient times and is still very popular today.
It is often eaten grilled, such as in fillets, and is also famous as an ingredient in onigiri (rice balls).

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