New Zealand King Salmon's (NZKS) Ora King salmon is challenging wild tuna for the title of most popular high-end fish with chefs in the United States, reports Bloomberg.

Chefs are comparing the fish, which has been bred for 25 years from stock first imported from California in the 1900s, with wagyu beef, famed for its marbled meat and melt-in-the-mouth texture.

The cost of the NZKS salmon is at least twice the price of commodity Atlantic farmed salmon and is available in specialty food stores where it costs $30 a pound -- $66.14 per kilo -- or about 12 percent less than wild king salmon.

The fish represents less than 1 percent of the world’s salmon supply.

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