Kona Blue Water Farms said it has signed a deal to sell its farm-raised Kona Kampachi fish that makes it available at 24 Whole Foods Market stores in three western states.

Kona Blue raises the fish in five pens anchored in 200 feet of water in an area spread across 90 acres off the Big Island's Kona Coast. A sixth pen will be added within the next week or so.

Founded in 2001, the company employs 40 people. Kona Blue Water is a division of Big Island-based pearl oyster cultivator Black Pearls Inc.

The submersible cages are 60 feet tall by 80 feet in diameter. Growing fish in their natural environment is more cost-effective than in tanks on land, in part because there's no need for electricity to drive pumps to aerate the water, according to the company.

The fish raised at Kona Blue Water Farms, known as amberjack or kahala in the wild, are marketed by the company under the trademarked name Kona Kampachi.

Whole Foods agreed to sell the fish in its stores in California, Arizona and Nevada after officials from the upscale grocery-store chain visited the Kona Blue operations. Whole Foods bills itself as the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods.