Motorcycle-sized tuna fetches more than US$1M at Japan auction

A 276-kilogram bluefin tuna that was auctioned for 207 million Japanese yen (about about US$1.3 million). Kyodo/via Reuters via CNN Newsource

TOKYO -

A bluefin tuna about the size of a motorcycle has been sold for US$1.3 million (207 million yen) at Japan’s most prestigious fish market, setting the second highest price on record during its new year auction.

Michelin-starred sushi restaurateurs Onodera Group claimed the 608-pound (276-kilogram) fish with its million-dollar bid at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market on January 5, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

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The bid marks the second highest price since the seafood wholesale market, considered the world’s largest, began to collect data in 1999, according to Kyodo. The highest bid on record is $3.1 million (333.6 million yen) for a 278-kilogram tuna in 2019.

Vendors from across the country put their best catches up for auction at the market most mornings of the week. But the prestigious new year auction carries a special meaning for bidders who converge to vie for the honor of claiming the first batch of the year.

“The year’s first tuna brings good luck. We want to make people smile with food,” said Shinji Nagao, the president of Sushi Onodera, cited by Kyodo.

The group is behind the Michelin-starred Sushi Ginza Onodera chain with eateries in Tokyo and Los Angeles.

It is the fifth consecutive year that the Onodera Group has paid the top price, having forked out over $720,000 (114.2 million yen) for a bluefin tuna at the auction last year, according to Sushi Ginza Onodera’s website.

Their latest prize was caught off the coast of Oma in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori, according to Kyodo.

The fisherman behind the catch, Masahiro Takeuchi, described to Japanese media how “unbelievably happy” he was.

“I’m always worried about how many more years I’ll be able to keep fishing like this,” said the 73 year old, according to national broadcaster NHK.

First opened in 1935, the fish market was originally located in Tsukiji and was one of Tokyo’s most popular travel destinations.

It was moved to Toyosu, a nearby man-made island, in October 2019. The relocation was met with mixed reviews: supporters rooted for an upgrade of facilities while critics slammed the loss of its iconic location.

Bluefin are the largest tuna, and can live up to 40 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The endangered species migrate across all oceans, can weigh 1,500 pounds and reach 10 feet in length. In recent decades, the populations have declined severely from overfishing and illegal fishing, according to the WWF.