The exploration campaign off the coast of Guyana, led by the company Antoine Abchée et fils, ended last week. After offering a tasting to its employees, sushi was offered to the partners. We tested them.
While the guests trickle in, into the kitchen of Shojo, restaurant of sushi at the entrance to Rémire-Montjoly, the chef, Pholtehep Narasri shapes nigiri. The gesture is precise and quick. At first glance, nothing is different from what he usually does. Yet what he’s cooking is why the restaurant was privatized that night : in his expert hands, the Shojo chef prepares tuna caught the day before in Guyanese waters. A first.
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Backtracking. A few months ago, the company Antoine Abchée et fils started the process to obtain authorizations for fishing for large pelagics. : tuna, swordfish, marlin, sea bream… At the beginning of November, the first exploration campaign started. Gaby Abchée is the president of the Abchée group which brings together three companies, one shipowner and two seafood processing companies. « For us, there are two important axes. There is economic development but also food sovereignty. We launched this project in 2019 but had to put it on hold during Covid. Then there was the administrative schedule, the attempts, the consultants… We knew that there was tuna in Guyana, but we had not yet explored the areas. »
After transforming one of its shrimp boats into a longliner and obtaining exploration authorizations, the campaign allowed three trips to sea. On board, an observer from fishingcleaner.com responsible for collecting as much data as possible. This information will be valuable in obtaining fishing authorizations for these fish subject to quota. « We know that the resource is there, says Gaby Abchée. We will make the requests in 2025. » Ultimately, the project could come to fruition in a period of between two and five years.
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In the meantime, training issues are already being considered. With this in mind, students of the maritime CAP, taught since September in Matiti, were invited during the last disembarkation at the Port of Larivot. Another theme that already leads to reflection : the rationalization of resources. « We can imagine, advances Gaby Abchée, use the same boat for shrimp fishing in the rainy season and modify it for fishing for large pelagics the rest of the time, depending on what we learn about the migrations of these species. »
For Johnny Chan, owner of Shojo, who was hosting, the prospect of sourcing locally is pleasing. « The fish will be fresher, its flesh will then be firmer and more flavorful. In terms of traceability, it will be more direct, in terms of price too it will be more interesting because today, the price of the fish that we import is two and a half times higher than what we could get locally. » Beyond these considerations, we sense in the restaurateur a barely veiled pride in offering fish caught in Guyanese waters in his establishment.
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This pride can also be seen on the faces of the guests when the first dishes arrive, even those who admit to not being fans of fish. The loubine fritter with combava is followed by a particularly tasty tuna tataki. After these first cooked or semi-cooked preparations, arrive the tartars, sashimi, nigiris and makis made with sailfish and yellowfin tuna caught the day before. The first, with pinker flesh, the second a beautiful intense red. Final verdict : we want more.
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