Record price for a Tuna

[jpurcell]

Big tuna fetches record $396,000 in Tokyo
AP

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Bidders look at a giant bluefin tuna on a cart after it was sold at auction at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. The tuna fetched AP – Bidders look at a giant bluefin tuna on a cart after it was sold at auction at Tsukiji fish market in …
By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA, Associated Press Tomoko A. Hosaka, Associated Press – Wed Jan 5, 2:03 am ET

TOKYO – 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, a spokesman for Tsukiji market said.

"It was an exceptionally large fish," said the official, Yutaka Hasegawa. "But we were all surprised by the price."

The massive tuna was bought and shared by the same duo that won the bidding for last year's top fish: the owners of Kyubey, an upscale sushi restaurant in Tokyo's Ginza district, and Itamae Sushi, a casual, Hong Kong-based chain.

Reporters thronged Hong Kong entrepreneur Ricky Cheng after his big win, which reflects the growing popularity of sushi around the world, particularly in Asia.

"I was nervous when I arrived in Tokyo yesterday, but I am relieved now," he said after the auction, which began shortly after 5 a.m.

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.

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.

Fatty bluefin — called "o-toro" here — can sell for 2,000 yen ($24) per piece at high-end Tokyo sushi restaurants.

Japanese wholesalers, however, face growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks worldwide.

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.

[bluefintuna1945]

The same game every year. They pay an insane price for just one fish, that always comes from the same port in Japan, and that makes the headlines all over the world.

This one they paid $526 a pound for while the other 100 or so sold at the same time averaged $22

What a joke.

[Block and Tackle]

here we go again

[captseanb]

Post an intelligent comment to the treehuggers, its our only AMMO

[KP161]

One fish in 2010 we beat that price and made $398,549 back to the boat for the fish but the quality was pretty good and we hit the market just right. Most other fish we caught went $125,000-$275,000 per fish back to boat. Couple fish the quality was not very good at all and we made $85,000 back to the boat on those fish.

[Animal 1]

One fish in 2010 we beat that price and made $398,549 back to the boat for the fish but the quality was pretty good and we hit the market just right. Most other fish we caught went $125,000-$275,000 per fish back to boat. Couple fish the quality was not very good at all and we made $85,000 back to the boat on those fish.

Lol.These effers are going to beat our brains in all year with this ridiculous number.

[Heli Sports]

...the other 100 or so sold at the same time averaged $22.

No, the market for wild Bluefin at Tsukiji was very firm this morning, though you wouldn't know it by the prices for the two pieces from North Carolina (both were poor meat color, one had Yake). The average hammer price for wild domestic Bluefin was more like $70 USD per kilo. Prices were up for farmed Bluefin too, and Bigeye/Yellowfin as well.

It's Shinnenkai season in Japan now and prices are always especially firm when the market reopens after being closed for several days.

Still, this mornings astronomical price is just another of Ricky Cheng's publicity stunts and does not reflect true market conditions. This is the second year the entrepreneur from Hong Kong has teamed-up with a top Japanese Nakagai to purchase the number one Bluefin. Unfortunately the green organizations will sieze this opportunity for publicity and we will be hearing about how Bluefin are worth half a million dollars each for the bext year.

Shinnenkai and Bonenkai Prices:

These early January astronomical Bluefin prices at Tsukiji should not surprise anyone, they occur every year at this time. They are not a true reflection of market conditions in Japan, and while its true that publicity seeking has alot to do with it, there is much more to it than that.

The Japanese celebrate New Years a bit differently than we do. Late December is "Bonenkai" period and there are many "forget-the-year parties"

Early January is the "Shinnenkai" season and the new year is celebrated. There are many social gatherings of company workers, business and office parties, usually held at restaurants. These celebrations are very important in Japan and it is considered a time to strengthen relationships with clients and among co-workers.

Prior to Shinnenkai the markets in Japan have been closed for several days for the Shogatsu holiday (January 1-4) so every wholesaler at Tsukiji has to buy tuna when the market re-opens because they do not carry inventory over that holiday. Traditionally, market conditions for tuna in early January are particularly strong for this reason.

Typically at this time of year, two or three Nakagai or wholesalers will team up and bid together on a tuna which they will then split between them. The bidding between these "teams" can get rather heated as the wholesalers fight over the very best quality tuna on the floor and this is one reason that the prices get bid up so high. The auctioneers will also do their best to inflate hammer prices at this time as a bonus or gesture of goodwill to their loyal suppliers.

The Japanese are a very proud and nationalistic society. The tunas that achieve these astronomical prices are usually harvested from the Tsugaru Strait in the icy waters off of Oma (Aomori prefecture) in northern Japan. The Japanese consider these Bluefin which feed largely on squid and salmon, to be among the very best quality Maguro in the world.

[bluefintuna1945]

Re:>>>No, the market for wild Bluefin at Tsukiji was very firm this morning. The average hammer price for wild domestic Bluefin was more like $70 USD per kilo. Heli, I'll of course defer to you and your wealth of knowledge.

I was just trying to make the point that the price on this one fish was a joke and made an attempt to show what the "average/normal" price (for fish from all areas) was on the same market the same day.
Even at $70USD/Kilo for the wild domestic fish is "only" $32 a pound, a far far cry from $526

[amarshall]

No, the market for wild Bluefin at Tsukiji was very firm this morning, though you wouldn't know it by the prices for the two pieces from North Carolina (both were poor meat color, one had Yake). The average hammer price for wild domestic Bluefin was more like $70 USD per kilo. Prices were up for farmed Bluefin too, and Bigeye/Yellowfin as well.

It's Shinnenkai season in Japan now and prices are always especially firm when the market reopens after being closed for several days.

Still, this mornings astronomical price is just another of Ricky Cheng's publicity stunts and does not reflect true market conditions. This is the second year the entrepreneur from Hong Kong has teamed-up with a top Japanese Nakagai to purchase the number one Bluefin. Unfortunately the green organizations will sieze this opportunity for publicity and we will be hearing about how Bluefin are worth half a million dollars each for the bext year.

Shinnenkai and Bonenkai Prices:

These early January astronomical Bluefin prices at Tsukiji should not surprise anyone, they occur every year at this time. They are not a true reflection of market conditions in Japan, and while its true that publicity seeking has alot to do with it, there is much more to it than that.

The Japanese celebrate New Years a bit differently than we do. Late December is "Bonenkai" period and there are many "forget-the-year parties"

Early January is the "Shinnenkai" season and the new year is celebrated. There are many social gatherings of company workers, business and office parties, usually held at restaurants. These celebrations are very important in Japan and it is considered a time to strengthen relationships with clients and among co-workers.

Prior to Shinnenkai the markets in Japan have been closed for several days for the Shogatsu holiday (January 1-4) so every wholesaler at Tsukiji has to buy tuna when the market re-opens because they do not carry inventory over that holiday. Traditionally, market conditions for tuna in early January are particularly strong for this reason.

Typically at this time of year, two or three Nakagai or wholesalers will team up and bid together on a tuna which they will then split between them. The bidding between these "teams" can get rather heated as the wholesalers fight over the very best quality tuna on the floor and this is one reason that the prices get bid up so high. The auctioneers will also do their best to inflate hammer prices at this time as a bonus or gesture of goodwill to their loyal suppliers.

The Japanese are a very proud and nationalistic society. The tunas that achieve these astronomical prices are usually harvested from the Tsugaru Strait in the icy waters off of Oma (Aomori prefecture) in northern Japan. The Japanese consider these Bluefin which feed largely on squid and salmon, to be among the very best quality Maguro in the world.

Heli's posts are worth the price of admission here.