---
title: "You’ve Heard of Fake Meat. How About Fake Fish?"
description: "A new Wall Street Journal story looks at the rise of imitation tuna, shrimp, and even smoked salmon. The surprise conclusion: It's pretty convincing."
date: "2018-10-16"
modified: "2018-10-16"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/fake-meat-fake-fish"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "clean meat"
  - "fake fish"
  - "Protein"
  - "the digest"
---

# You’ve Heard of Fake Meat. How About Fake Fish?

![A new Wall Street Journal story looks at the rise of imitation tuna, shrimp, and even smoked salmon. The surprise conclusion: It's pretty convincing.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/fake-meat-fake-fish.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Ocean Hugger Foods\</em\>*

## Something's Fishy

You've definitely heard of veggie burgers and tofu dogs. Chances are you've even heard vegetarians and vegans mulling the relative benefits of choice meat substitutes such as Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger.

Fake fish options have remained much scarcer — at least until now. A new [*Wall Street Journal* story](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/fish-the-finalfrontier-in-fake-meat-1539610151?mod=e2fb>) looks at the rise of imitation tuna, shrimp, and even smoked salmon. The surprise conclusion: It's pretty convincing to the tastebuds.

## Watery Umami

No fake fish brand has achieved the household recognition of Boca Burgers or Morningstar Farms. But according to *WSJ* reporter Anne Marie Chaker, standout contenders include Sophie's Kitchen, Ocean Hugger Foods, and Good Catch — which use cutting-edge food science to manipulate vegetables ranging from tomatoes to pea protein isolate **—** into the elusive textures and flavors of ocean life.

Of course, the ultimate test will be whether these new brands can earn precious space on the crowded shelves of Whole Foods and choosy local co-ops. If so, they could be a crucial tool to reduce strain on the world's fisheries.

**READ MORE:** [Fish: The Final Frontier in Fake Meat](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/fish-the-finalfrontier-in-fake-meat-1539610151>) *\[The Wall Street Journal\]*

***More on fake meat: [Bill Gates and Richard Branson Invest in Lab-Grown Meat Startup](<https://futurism.com/bill-gates-and-richard-branson-invest-in-lab-grown-meat-startup>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)