Together, bluefin tuna’s high value and protected status have made it the ‘holy grail of aquaculture’ – but bluefin tuna are not well-suited for farming. While there are currently efforts to make farmed bluefin a mainstream success, the California-based biotech company Finless Foods is taking a different approach. Instead of raising fish, Finless Foods is growing bluefin tuna in a laboratory.

There are already several vegetarian tuna-alternatives on the market, but these plant-based ‘meats’ will not easily replace tuna in the sushi industry where bluefin tuna is most popular. By growing bluefin tuna meat rather than creating a meat-alternative, Finless Foods hopes to provide a more sustainable, and perhaps cheaper, form of bluefin tuna, while also reducing commercial pressure on wild fish stocks.