鮪 · マグロ · maguro
Maguro
Maguro is tuna — the emblem of edomae sushi. At a serious counter it means bluefin, graded by fat from lean akami to rich otoro, and it carries real mercury and sustainability baggage.
- Also known as
- tuna, hon-maguro, akami, chutoro, otoro
- Species
- Thunnus orientalis (Pacific bluefin tuna)
- Category
- Red-flesh fish (akami)
- Texture
- firm, meaty (akami); melting (toro) — clean iron, umami, rich in fattier cuts
- Peak season
- Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb
- Sustainability
- red — Bluefin is heavily overfished — Seafood Watch rates most bluefin 'avoid'. Pole-and-line yellowfin/albacore are better choices.
- Mercury
- 0.69 ppm (FDA mean)
- Pregnancy
- Eat in moderation
- Often swapped with
- escolar (as 'white tuna'), yellowfin
- Price tier
- $$$
The king of edomae
Maguro is tuna — the single most emblematic sushi neta. At a serious counter “maguro” usually means hon-maguro, Pacific or Atlantic bluefin, prized above yellowfin (kihada) and albacore (bin-naga). It’s graded by fattiness: lean akami, medium-fatty chūtoro, and the rich, marbled ōtoro from the belly.
Zuke: the original tuna preparation
Before refrigeration, lean akami was cured in soy (zuke) to preserve it and deepen its umami — a technique still used today for flavor, not just preservation.
Mercury — eat it knowingly
As a large apex predator, bluefin is among the highest-mercury sushi fish. The FDA lists bigeye tuna at 0.69 ppm, and bluefin is comparably high; pregnant diners are advised to limit or avoid it. Leaner akami carries more mercury per bite than fatty toro.
Fraud: tuna is one of the most-faked fish
Oceana’s DNA testing found roughly 59% of “tuna” samples mislabeled. The most notorious swap isn’t even tuna: “white tuna” is very often escolar, a snake mackerel that can cause digestive distress and is banned in Japan. If you want real tuna, name the species — akami, chūtoro, bluefin — not a color.
Sustainability
Bluefin is heavily overfished; Seafood Watch rates most bluefin red (avoid). Pole-and-line yellowfin or albacore are far better choices when you want tuna with a cleaner conscience.
Related neta
Akami
Akami is the lean, deep-red back muscle of tuna — the most traditional cut, all clean iron and umami, and the one with the most mercury per bite.
中トロ chutoroChutoro
Chutoro is the medium-fatty cut between lean akami and rich otoro — marbled like good beef but balanced, and for many the best-value sweet spot of the tuna.
大トロ otoroOtoro
Otoro is the fattiest cut of the tuna belly — densely marbled, pale pink, and rich enough to dissolve on the tongue. The prized luxury slice of edomae sushi.