Online
\nTokyo
\nA Japanese sushi boss has paid a record $3.1m (\u00a32.5m) for a giant tuna at the first new year\u2019s auction in Tokyo\u2019s new fish market. Self-styled \u201cTuna King\u201d Kiyoshi Kimura bought the 278kg (612lbs) bluefin tuna, which is an endangered species.
\nHe spent more than twice the previous record of $1.4m, which he paid in 2013. Wholesalers and sushi company owners often pay high prices for the best fish at the first pre-dawn auction of the new year. \u201cI bought a good tuna,\u201d Kimura told media after the auction.
\nThe price was higher than originally thought, but I hope our customers will eat this excellent tuna.\u201d Kimura has been the highest bidder at the new year auction for seven of the past eight years.
\nOn a normal day a similar sized fish would sell for around $60,000. Today\u2019s record is in part about status – and it creates a lot of publicity for Kimura and his sushi empire.
\nBut it is also a reflection of the scarcity of large pacific bluefin tuna. They are officially listed as an endangered species. In 2018 catches off the coast of Japan were significantly down, and since the middle of last year prices in Tokyo have climbed by more than 40%.
\nThe 2019 auction is the first new year sale to take place at the new fish market on the site of a former gas plant in Toyosu, which opened in October.
\nThe previous site at Tsukiji opened in 1935 and became the world\u2019s biggest fish market and a popular tourist attraction.
\nHowever issues including concerns about outdated fire regulations and hygiene controls prompted the market to be moved to a larger and more modern site.
\nBluefin tuna are designated as an endangered species by the World Wildlife Fund.
\nThe International Union for Conservation of Nature\u2019s Red List of Threatened Species says Atlantic Bluefin are endangered while the Pacific Bluefin are vulnerable.
\nLast month Japan announced it would restart commercial whaling.
\nThe country said it would withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which banned commercial whaling in 1986 after some species were driven almost to extinction.
\nConservation groups have warned that the move will have serious consequences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Online Tokyo A Japanese sushi boss has paid a record $3.1m (\u00a32.5m) for a giant tuna at the first new year\u2019s auction in Tokyo\u2019s new fish market. Self-styled \u201cTuna King\u201d Kiyoshi Kimura bought the 278kg (612lbs) bluefin tuna, which is an endangered species. He spent more than twice the previous record of $1.4m, which he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n