Watch: Geoduck Is the Star of This Seattle Omakase

In the Puget Sound, along the northwestern coast of Washington state, a clam known as the geoduck has been not-so-quietly residing for centuries. It’s native to the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, but coveted by sushi chefs around the world.

Kotaro Kumita recalls when the sweet clam was relatively inexpensive in 1991, around the time when he moved to Seattle from Japan to learn English. But as Kumita notes, high rates of exporting geoduck to Asia have lead the price per pound to nearly triple.

Watch the clip here