Harney Sushi Introduces Edible QR Codes Linking To NOAA’s FishWatch Program

SAN DIEGO - March 20, 2013 - PRLog -- Harney Sushi, a pioneer of sustainable sushi in Southern California, has just announced a new program that will allow their customers to interact with the premiere authority on sustainable seafood via edible QR codes that will be served on their sushi. These edible QR codes will take any curious customer to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) FishWatch (http://www.fishwatch.gov/) website. This site will provide Harney diners with information about the fish they’re consuming, about the sustainable species on Harney’s menu, and will also provide the latest news coming from the sustainable seafood world.

Harney Sushi’s owners Dustin Summerville and Kirk Harrison and Executive Chef Robert Ruiz has been working closely with NOAA in the last several months at their Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, CA to help establish and explore better standards of sustainability.  NOAA’s FishWatch program, the federal government’s agency responsible for monitoring the health of our ocean’s populations, has some of the most comprehensive data about sustainable seafood available and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center is one of their busiest hubs.

Chef Ruiz explains, “As the world continues to grow smaller, the importance of healthy, clean oceans, and our responsibility to maintain the ecosystems within them, can no longer be neglected.  The global appetite for seafood continues to grow, and the ocean cannot keep up. The sad truth is that if you walk into a sushi bar, a very small percentage of chefs actually know about the species of fish they are serving and where it was caught.  So we at Harney are working to solve that issue: to increase awareness, eliminate fish fraud, and acknowledge our social responsibility to stimulate economies and protect our oceans—all with the value of each customers experience in mind.”

Harney Sushi, in their continued mission to promote, celebrate, and evolve the sustainable seafood movement, sees the QR codes as an opportunity to further engage their customers in the movement by providing modern tools by which to become educated about sustainable seafood. Harney is among the first restaurants in the US to offer such edible technology in the attempt to spread the word about sustainability. The code itself will be printed on a rice paper wafer and uses a water based, edible ink. The initial launch will utilize just one code that will lead to the FishWatch homepage, but the program will eventually include species specific codes in an effort to demonstrate Harney’s commitment to fighting fish fraud as well as increasing transparency and traceability.

The edible QR codes will debut this week, just days after Sustainable Seafood Week in San Diego.

For more information or images please visit www.harneysushi.com or contact:

Emily Aschbrenner, Elle Communications, emily@ellecomm.com