Tokyo’s iconic Toyosu Fish Market, considered the world’s largest seafood market, held its annual New Year auction on January 5 this year. One of the highlights was the sale of a giant bluefin tuna, worth more than a million dollars. Onodera Group, which includes Michelin-starred sushi restaurants, paid 207 million yen (about Rs 11 crore) for 276 kg of tuna in the auction. According to reports, the size and weight of this giant tuna was as much as a motorcycle. The Japanese news agency Kyodo quoted it as saying that the fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northeastern Aomori Prefecture.
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The group has paid the highest price in this particular auction for five consecutive years. In 2024, it paid 114m yen (about Rs 6 crore) for the best tuna. “The first tuna is a thing that brings good luck… Our wish is that people will eat it and have a wonderful year.” Onodera official Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction, AFP reports. According to the BBC, Onodera Group also said the tuna would be served at its Michelin-starred Ginza Onodera restaurant and Nadaman restaurants across Japan. The price at this year’s auction is the second-highest amount paid since records began in 1999. The most expensive sale happened in 2019 when Kiyoshi Kimura (owner of a popular Japanese sushi restaurant) paid 333.6 million yen (about Rs 18 crore). For 278 kg bluefin tuna.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the bluefin is the largest species of tuna and can live up to 40 years. The bluefin tuna is considered endangered. There are three species of bluefin: Atlantic, Pacific, and southern. According to WWF, the Atlantic bluefin tuna is said to be the largest and most endangered. In the culinary world, bluefin tuna is used in dishes such as sushi and sashimi. This is generally the most expensive category of tuna.
