News Flash: Serving Whale in the U.S. Could Mean Jail Time

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Two Los Angeles sushi chefs just learned the hard way that you do not, we repeat, DO NOT serve whale in United States restaurants. It’s very, very illegal. Especially when it’s the meat of an endangered whale.

Chefs Kiyoshiro Yamamoto and Susumu Ueda, who both worked at the now-shuttered Santa Monica restaurant The Hump, plead guilty on Monday to three misdemeanor charges related to selling whale meat.

They face up to three years in federal prison, plus thousands of dollars in fines and community service. The ruling comes nearly four years after the filmmakers of the documentary “The Cove,” which condemns the dolphin hunting trade, first accused the cooks of serving whale.

Why might someone want to serve whale meat in the first place?

I have eaten minke whale meat in Iceland, where doing so is legal. It wasn’t a choice I agonized over at the time, although after viewing the documentaries “Blackfish" and "The Cove," I’ve come to regret the decision.

Whale meat is unlike anything I’ve tasted before. The meat has a rich, even fattiness throughout—the opposite of a marbled cut of beef—and a vibrantly sweet flavor that recalls fresh shrimp. Unlike other controversial foods such as shark fin (which is widely acknowledged to be tasteless), or puffer fish (which can kill you), whale meat can be somewhat tempting.

But putting it on the menu is no joke. If the fate of these two chefs isn’t proof enough, consider viewing both documentaries. Both fall in the “hard to watch” category, but they ask important questions about the treatment of marine mammals around the world.

And simply put, serving whale is against the law. You don’t want to go to jail over a sushi roll. It’s definitely not worth it.

[via Eater]