(FORTUNE Magazine) – I WAKE UP AT 3:30 A.M., AND I COME TO MY office at about four to take the ten or 20 orders placed on the answering machine. My customers are hotels and sushi bars from all over--Hawaii but also the mainland, L.A., Las Vegas, Alaska. Every morning, Monday through Saturday, I head to the Honolulu Fish Auction, which starts at 5:30. Some days there are three fishing boats unloading, other days there are five, which can mean between 15,000 and 70,000 pounds of fish. We get about 20 kinds of fish--the most popular is ahi tuna, the second most popular is probably marlin. We can't taste the fish, so one by one I touch it and I look at the tail, which the auctioneer cuts, so I can see how fresh it is. I've been doing this 26 years; the No. 1 thing I look for is color. Red flesh means it's fresh; if it's brown or black, it's older. I can tell in seconds. It's very competitive. Every day I have to try to get better quality but pay less, and the bidding is hard--I have to read the other bidders' eyes. Today we buy, today we deliver, today we ship--everyone likes fresh fish, yes? -- Interview by Julia Boorstin