The Arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus) is a species of mackerel

Mackerel

Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...

 used in Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...

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The primary population of the fish is found off of the Sea of Okhotsk

Sea of Okhotsk

The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...

. According to legend, it was discovered by Nichiji

Nichiji

Nichiji , also known as Kaikō, was a Buddhist disciple of Nichiren who traveled to Hokkaido, Siberia, and China.Nichiji was born in Suruga Province, the second child of a large and powerful family...

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Uses

Known as hokke in Japanese, the fish can be enjoyed fresh, dried, or frozen, and can be served raw, boiled, grilled or fried.

Taxonomy

P. azonus is occasionally considered synonymous with the Atka mackerel

Atka mackerel

The Atka mackerel, Pleurogrammus monopterygius, is a mackerel in the family Hexagrammidae. Atka mackerel are common to the northern Pacific ocean, and are one of only two members of the genus Pleurogrammus - the other being the Arabesque greenling...

, P. monopterygius (Nelson 1994), and thus is sometimes referred to as the "Okhotsk Atka mackerel". However, in reality it is probably a separate species (Crow et al. 2004).

This fish was also documented as Stellistius katsukii but the older name Pleurogrammus azonus takes precedent.