Silver-skinned
Striped jack (Shima aji)
【Nigiri sushi: Shiromi】
Shimaaji can be found from Japan’s Kanto region southward to the Indian Ocean. There are many living around islands such as the Izu islands, which is how it got the name “shimaaji”, because ‘島 (shima)’ means ‘island’ in Japanese. Its young also have a vertical, yellow strip down the center of its body, so the “Shima” may also be written as 縞, which means ‘stripe’. Shimaaji is an open sea fish and when they are young, dwell in the seaweed that floats on the surface, later moving to depths of 100 meters deep as adults. They move North between Spring and Summer, then from Autumn to Winter, they move South for a North to South migration. They swim in schools, eating small fish, squid, and shrimp, among other things. It is the most delicious of the Carangidae (aji) family. It is a high-quality fish, indispensable as a summer sushi topping or sashimi dish. Wild ones that are caught during summer are wonderfully fine-textured with high-quality fat.