Source: AP/Press Association Images
THIS MASSIVE TUNA fish sold in Japan today for a whopping €108,000.
Although the bluefin tuna is threatened with extinction, it would not usually attract such a price tag. However, as part of the country's New Year rituals, business owners fight at auction over the first fish of the year.
Japanese sushi boss Kiyoshi Kimura, of Kiyomura Co., was the winner again this year, netting the 220kg tuna for 14 million yen (€108,000). He said he was "glad" to bring home the first tuna for the fifth year in a row.
The price is three times higher than last year but still far below a record 155.4 million yen paid by the sushi chain three years ago - when a Hong Kong restaurant group drove up bidding - for a slightly larger fish of similar quality.
The restaurant that brings the first fish home from the Tsukiji market - the biggest in the world - usually advertises it to attract more customers throughout the year.
But it's not all fun and games for New Year. The sushi business is causing environmental problems in the area with the bluefin tuna nearing extinction.
Many activists have called for a trade ban on the species, the most expensive fish available at market and at dinner.
A single piece of "otoro", or the fish's fatty underbelly, can cost up to several thousand yen at high-end Tokyo restaurants.
The growing popularity of Japanese sushi worldwide has stoked demand elsewhere.
"Given the already dire state of the population – decimated to just 4% of unfished levels -- it is of particular concern that the auction price is rising again," Amanda Nickson, director of Global Tuna Conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said today in a statement.
"The international community must let the Japanese government know that additional action is needed to save this species."
With AFP
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