Bluefin tuna nets over 100 million yen at first auction of new year

Jan 05, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - In the first auction of the year at Tokyo's Toyosu Market, a bluefin tuna from Oma in Aomori Prefecture was sold for a record-breaking 114.24 million yen.

Just after 5:00 AM on Friday, the traditional New Year's auction commenced at the Toyosu Market, signaled by the ringing of a bell.

Bidding was lively as rows of tuna were auctioned off.

The most prized "number one tuna," considered a good luck charm, weighed 238 kilograms and was caught at Oma Port in Aomori Prefecture. It sold for 114.24 million yen, exceeding last year's 36.04 million yen.

The previous record was set in 2019, during the first auction after the market's relocation from Tsukiji to Toyosu, where a tuna from Oma fetched 333.6 million yen.

Meanwhile, on January 4, Katsuura Fishing Port in Nachikatsuura Town, Wakayama Prefecture, known for having Japan's largest catch of fresh tuna, also held its first tuna market of the year.

Fishing boats operating off the coast of the Kumano Sea brought in about 50 tons of tuna that morning, a catch typical for this time of year. Three types of tuna were lined up in the market, where buyers were keenly assessing the quality during the first auction of the year. The tuna, packed in ice, is primarily shipped to the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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