A giant bluefin tuna fetched a record 32.49 million yen, or nearly $396,000, in Tokyo on Wednesday, in the first auction of the year at the world's largest wholesale fish market.
The price for the 754-pound (342-kilogram) tuna beat the previous record set in 2001 when a 445-pound (202-kilogram) fish sold for 20.2 million yen. It was an exceptionally large fish, but all surprised by the price.
The giant tuna, caught off the coast of northern Japan, was among 538 shipped in from around the world for Wednesday's auction. The record-setting price translates to a whopping 95,000 yen per kilogram, or about $526 per pound. Fatty bluefin — called "o-toro" here — can sell for 2,000 yen ($24) per piece at high-end Tokyo sushi restaurants
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.
In November, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas voted to cut the bluefin fishing quota in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 13,500 to 12,900 metric tons annually — about a 4 percent reduction. It also agreed on measures to try to improve enforcement of quotas on bluefin. The decision was strongly criticized by environmental groups, which hoped to see bluefin fishing slashed or suspended.
What we can do for tuna demand in the world. Are going to be loyal follower, wait, see and copy from what other people are doing. May be we should learn to believe and trust our own people. Leaders must change if we want to support “the transformation”.
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