Giant Tuna Fetches $177,000 At Japan Fish Auction

TOKYO — A giant bluefin tuna fetched 16.3 million yen ($177,000) in an auction Tuesday at the world's largest wholesale fish market in Japan.

The 513-pound (233-kilogram) fish was the priciest since 2001 when a 440-pound (200 kilogram) tuna sold for a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) at Tokyo's Tsukiji market.

The gargantuan tuna was bought and shared by the owners of two Japanese sushi restaurants and one Hong Kong-based sushi establishment, said a market representative on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Caught off the coast of northern Japan, the big tuna was among 570 put up for auction Tuesday. About 40 percent of the auctioned fish came from abroad, including from Indonesia and Mexico, the representative said.

Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood with Japanese eating 80 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught. The two tuna species are the most sought after by sushi lovers.

However, tuna consumption in Japan has declined because of a prolonged economic slump as the world's second-largest economy struggles to shake off its worst recession since World War II.

"Consumers are shying away from eating tuna ... We are very worried about the trend," the market representative said.

Apart from falling demand for tuna, wholesalers are worried about growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November slashed the quota for the 2010 catch by about one-third to 13,500 tons (12,250 metric tons) – a move criticized by environmentalists as not going far enough.

Comments

[inc3000]

04:40 PM on 01/06/2010

The reason why this type of tuna is so expensive is because it will go extinct no matter what. I thought everything from this country (Japan) was so honorable, pure and good. My butt.

[plaidsportcoat]

01:28 PM on 01/06/2010

Yum. A concentrated mercury treat. They don't test them for mercury content before they eat them. Tuna have the highest concentration of mercury of any fish. You'd think the Japanese might care, after the huge mercury poisoning of citizens in Minamata, Japan.

[oxygen]

10:18 AM on 01/11/2010

and you've never been told about what "resin discharge" is - once you find out you won't be so worried about mercury, ya those new england lobsters and other ground species where it all falls are - red hot - that's with one of those magenta radioactive type of "hot" signs

all subs discharge radioactive waste into the ocean as it accumulates because it is deemed too bothersome to hold it on board due to the limited space on subs

cool bar code plaid, have a nice day

[AirViceMarshalPark]

02:36 AM on 01/06/2010

$1,000 was for the tuna; $176,000 was for the mercury it contained.

Don't eat this stuff.

[sherwoodforest]

02:26 AM on 01/06/2010

Let's hope the trend in Japan is less sushi

[PentaxKilla]

07:30 PM on 01/05/2010

Since when is mercury more valuable than gold?

[inc3000]

04:39 PM on 01/06/2010

Since Bluefin tuna is about to go extinct..

[leifcatt]

07:20 PM on 01/05/2010

The ra pe of our oceans will be a major problem in the next decade. Of course the human species mantra is too little too late.
Japan will have hard times as the fish populations decline in alarming numbers. I see other countries will be affected as well but Japan consumes so much seafood and is one of the biggest if not the biggest country depleting fish stocks that they will feel the loss the most.

[PentaxKilla]

07:33 PM on 01/05/2010

Or the story was about a huge fish. But, you know, whatever you want to project is cool.

[leifcatt]

07:44 PM on 01/05/2010

hmm, I thought that this line - Apart from falling demand for tuna, wholesalers are worried about growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks.
and this line - Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood with Japanese eating 80 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught.
and this line - The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November slashed the quota for the 2010 catch by about one-third to 13,500 tons (12,250 metric tons) – a move criticized by environmentalists as not going far enough. - were actually in the story above.Is it the reading that is hard or just the comprehension?

[Ajita]

01:03 PM on 01/06/2010

It might help to inform yourself of a wider range of facts. There is no projection in leifcatt's message. The Japanese are indeed ra ping our oceans. Look up the facts about Japanese tuna consumption and the risks for fish stocks worldwide caused by the demand from Japan. Also, look up Japanese dolphin and whale consumption.

[MyVesta]

01:34 PM on 01/06/2010

Because it's underwater ... we can't see the devastation. Yet. But you're right - it is catastrophic and we are all going to feel it.

[KataVideo]

07:10 PM on 01/05/2010

It was expensive, but it was wearing a red hat and horn rimmed glasses when they found it.

[Bruce vain]

05:52 PM on 01/05/2010

2000 YEN FOR 1 SLICE....DAMN I WATCHED IT ON TV LAST NIGHT I LIVE IN JAPAN

[KataVideo]

07:10 PM on 01/05/2010

On the left side of your keyboard is a "caps lock" button. Press it once.

[plaidsportcoat]

01:30 PM on 01/06/2010

fas cist spelling and preferred case police not needed here
take chill pill on left side of cupboard

[yareallygotmegoin]

03:23 PM on 01/05/2010

How many undersea acres of coral were destroyed by Japanese factory fishing boats for the one fish? Price of that, unmeasureable.

[Clearing-Brush]

03:38 PM on 01/05/2010

Not a single acre or a square inch. Tuna in this weight class is cought in deep waters not over reefs.

[jcko]

04:05 PM on 01/05/2010

Tuna is a deep sea fish.

Attack the Japanese on whaling instead.

[Ajita]

01:05 PM on 01/06/2010

Its true about the deep sea bit, but there is plenty of reason to criticize the Japanese about tuna consumption. Read up on how they are decimating tuna stocks worldwide and how the Europeans are worried that the blue-fin could very well go extinct.

[inc3000]

04:41 PM on 01/06/2010

No, the bluefin tuna will go extinct if these people (sushi eating people) keep eating like pigs.

[castleblanca]

02:50 PM on 01/05/2010

So, how much will one piece of sashimi cost?

[jcko]

04:07 PM on 01/05/2010

probably more than a piece of Kobe steak.

but the bragging right is priceless.