10/28 - What is cell-based fish?

Welcome to the fish factory.

Some housekeeping:

-In the third installment of Ryan’s Reviews, our resident restaurant reviewer – whose name is Ryan - reviews the cozy broth and warm vibe of Hanoi House in East Village. Read the full review here.

-The Busch Turkey Broth review will be delayed a week. Our Canine Broth Critic was unhappy with his compensation. He wanted three treats, I offered one. We agreed on two treats and an extra walk. Production resumes this weekend.

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What is cell-based fish?

Two weeks ago, cell-based tuna startup BlueNalu announced that it expects to make a 75% gross profit in its first year when it operates at its planned commercial facility.  

The facility:

To date, BlueNalu has received $84.8 million in funding. I appreciate that most of the investment will go towards building a fish factory that looks like a minor league hockey rink. 

I have questions. Did BlueNalu build its stadium factory on Minecraft? Will employees’ severance procedures happen onsite? Should we be worried about this guy?

Another question worth asking: what is cell-based fish?

Cell-based fish is the seafood equivalent of lab-grown meat. For cell-based fish and lab-grown meat, the process is relatively the same: scientists biopsy cells from a desired species, grow the cells by feeding them nutrients, then shape those cells into what you would recognize as a tuna steak or chicken breast. 

BlueNalu needs its hockey rink to become commercially viable because growing cells quickly and efficiently requires a lot of space. At its new facility, BlueNalu will grow its tuna cells in 100,000 liter “bioreactors” that look and function like the fermentation containers used at commercial breweries.

It’s this - but filled with tuna:

Cell based fish is not FDA approved, yet. Singapore is expected to approve the sale of cell-based fish later this year; it will be the first country to do so. 

Despite its dystopian nature, cell-based fish is well intentioned.  In BlueNalu’s case, no tuna is killed during production (Alec Baldwin could never). In theory, cell-based fish could increase seafood supply while allowing overfished species - like tuna - to repopulate. This would be a good thing. 

BlueNalu claims that its product is free of “mercury, microplastics, and other pollutants” which is great for pregnant women and the most anxious person in your friend group. Also, cell-based fish should generate less waste - BlueNalu doesn’t need to grow a dorsal fin to produce a tuna belly. 

bluenaluinc

A post shared by BlueNalu (@bluenaluinc)

So where do I stand?

Restored fish populations, a pacifier for Mr. Microplastic, and waste reduction are things I can get behind. Objectively, we need all three. 

I don’t love the idea of someone with a Slack account and a parking spot at BlueNalu headquarters deciding how much tuna to grow in Q4 of 2028. I fear the day I find a Senior Associate Fish Grower on LinkedIn. But, I’d be disillusioned to think that commercial fishing is somehow morally superior because fishermen don’t wear quarter zips to work.

My stance: I will not campout for the inevitable BlueNalu x Supreme limited release tuna steak. But, if the Incoming Summer Culinary Analysts at BlueNalu figure out how to make this thing delicious, of course I’ll eat it.

As always, thank you for reading. I love each and everyone of y’all and can’t thank you enough for reading this silly little thing. Consider sharing this with a friend - if you’re into that sort of thing. Have a great weekend.