The top bidder at a Tokyo fish market said they paid $1.3 million for a tuna on Sunday, the second highest price ever paid at an annual prestigious new year auction.
Michelin-starred sushi restauranteurs the Onodera Group said they paid 207 million yen for the 608-pound bluefin tuna, roughly the size and weight of a motorcycle.
It is the second highest price paid at the opening auction of the year in Tokyo’s main fish market since comparable data started being collected in 1999.
The powerful buyers have now paid the top price for five years straight — winning bragging rights and a lucrative frenzy of media attention in Japan.
Issei Kato/REUTERS
“The first tuna is something meant to bring in good fortune,” Onodera official Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction. “Our wish is that people will eat this and have a wonderful year.”
The Onodera Group paid 114 million yen for the top tuna last year.
But the highest ever auction price was 333.6 million yen for a 612-pound bluefin in 2019, as the fish market was moved from its traditional Tsukiji area to a modern facility in nearby Toyosu.
The record bid was made by self-proclaimed “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura, who operates the Sushi Zanmai national restaurant chain.
During the COVID -19 pandemic, the new year tunas commanded only a fraction of their usual top prices, as the public were discouraged from dining out and restaurants had limited operations.
Issei Kato/REUTERS
Pacific bluefin tuna are the largest species of tuna in the Pacific with adults reaching nearly 10 feet in length and 1,000 pounds.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Pacific bluefin tuna as vulnerable. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the fish’s population has been increasing in recent years. An assessment released in June found that the Pacific bluefin tuna “exceeded international targets a decade ahead of schedule,” NOAA said.
