TÖKYÖ — The first fish auction of 2015, held Jan. 5 at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tōkyō, saw a bluefin tuna sell for 4.51 million yen, or roughly $37,934. That breaks down to 25,000 yen per kilogram, or about $95 per pound. The winning bidder for the 180-kg tuna (about 396 pounds) caught in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, was Kiyomura Co., a sushi restaurant chain based in Tökyö . Kiyomura was the high bidder at the first auction of 2014, as well.
Last year’s prize tuna sold for 7.36 million yen, far lower than the record set in 2013 of 155.4 million yen (roughly $1.3 million), also paid by Kiyomura. Many competitors avoided the costly race.
Kiyomura president Kiyoshi Kimura said there was much more tuna on the market this year. Still, he said he thought the price ”could be a little higher.” Kiyomura planned to serve the tuna at its restaurants nationwide.
A market source said this year’s price was somewhat lower than usual and reasonable, adding that the bidding in 2013 was extraordinarily overheated and is unlikely to happen again.
