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The earthquake and tsunami off Japan in March 2011 set off a nuclear disaster and the fallout is reaching California in the form of bluefin tuna.

"We were quite surprised that these bluefin carried these isotopes cesium 134 and cesium 137 to the waters off California," said Nicholas Fisher, Ph. D, who is with Stony Brook University.

Eighty percent of the world's bluefin tuna is consumed by the Japanese. The fish at auction there can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Point Loma Seafood does not carry it, since it is too expensive and it does not keep. However, the news had consumers wondering.

"I'm glad I'm not a sushi freak but that's really sad we learned about it already and it's part of our environment and a sad thing," said Marylou Barrios.

All fish are exposed to radiation – which occurs naturally – in the ocean. The radiation Fisher discovered equaled the amount in a dental x-ray.

Still, any news of this sort could have an impact on the sports fishing fleet.

"The economy's bad and we'd like to see more people come out and we don't need this kind of publicity," said boat captain Oliver Lee.

Bluefin tuna migrate from Japan to California and the good news is that most of what was found in them from the power plant was flushed out.

At the World Oceans Conference, there is not much worry about eating fish but it does show how the world is connected.

"It just shows the world that what happens in one area does have an impact on the rest of the world," said coastal engineer Susan Broduer.

When asked about consuming the bluefin, Fisher said, enjoy your sushi for now.

The bluefin that Fisher studied had only been in Japanese waters for about a month. A new study is examining bluefin that have been off Japan for a year. Those findings are due out this summer.