$736,000 Bluefin Tuna in a Tokyo Japan Market Auction
Kiyoshi Kimura (Left) cuts a bluefin tuna in front of his Sushi Zanmai restaurant in Tokyo, Jan. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)Associated Press reported that a 593-pound (269-kilogram) bluefin tuna caught off Northeastern Japan sold for a record-breaking 56.49 million yen, or about $736,000 to Kimura’s Tokyo-based Sushi-Zanmai sushi chain in the auction held on Thursday at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.
With $736,000, some people would buy a helicopter. Or a small Beverly Hills home. Or 150 Rolex watches. But with his six figures, Kiyoshi Kimura picked up a single frozen tuna.
The price busted past Tsukiji's record of $421,000, paid last year by a Hong Kong bidder. Kimura ended up shelling out about $1,238 per pound for the bluefin, which will be steeply discounted for diners.
To some, the record price and native buyer is a sign that Japan is bouncing back from a devastating earthquake and tsunami last year. The tuna was caught off the country’s northeastern shores in a region hit particularly hard by the disaster.
To others, particularly environmentalists concerned about overfishing, the high-stakes auction glorifies a tradition that could end up depleting the world’s fish populations.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this year decided not to list Atlantic bluefin tuna under the Endangered Species Act, instead naming it a “species of concern.”
With $736,000, some people would buy a helicopter. Or a small Beverly Hills home. Or 150 Rolex watches. But with his six figures, Kiyoshi Kimura picked up a single frozen tuna.
The price busted past Tsukiji's record of $421,000, paid last year by a Hong Kong bidder. Kimura ended up shelling out about $1,238 per pound for the bluefin, which will be steeply discounted for diners.
To some, the record price and native buyer is a sign that Japan is bouncing back from a devastating earthquake and tsunami last year. The tuna was caught off the country’s northeastern shores in a region hit particularly hard by the disaster.
To others, particularly environmentalists concerned about overfishing, the high-stakes auction glorifies a tradition that could end up depleting the world’s fish populations.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this year decided not to list Atlantic bluefin tuna under the Endangered Species Act, instead naming it a “species of concern.”
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