The $100,000 Tuna
I love tuna – it is perhaps my all time favorite everyday-eating fish. I don’t think that I would ever be able to pay this astronomical amount for tuna, though. An auction was held today in Tokyo, where a bluefin tuna weighing in at 282 pounds (128 kilograms) sold for $104,700! And who were the fortunate men who got the prized fish?
Two sushi bar owners – competitors at that. The Associated Press ran this story today:
The 282-pound (128-kilogram) premium tuna caught off the northern coast of Oma fetched 9.63 million yen ($104,700), the highest since 2001, when another Japanese bluefin tuna brought an all-time record of 20 million yen, market official Takashi Yoshida said.
Yoshida said the extravagant purchase — about $370 per pound ($817 per kilogram) — went to a Hong Kong sushi bar owner and his Japanese competitor who reached a peaceful settlement to share the big fish. The Hong Kong buyer also paid the highest price at last year’s new year event at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market, the world’s largest fish seller, which holds near-daily auctions.
So why were they so willing to part with that much money for a “mere†fish? Before I answer that, let me remind you that this no mere fish – it is a bluefin tuna native to the Japanese waters. This kind of tuna is very much sought after both in Japan and in the international market. And think about it, once these sushi bar owners sell sushi made from the tuna, they are going to double, even triple, the money that they spent! Now I know I would love to get a taste of that fish!
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Posted January 5th, 2009 by Maki | Comment (1)One Response to “The $100,000 Tuna”
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What makes that fish so special (and not only that it’s native to Japan waters) is there a distinct taste that makes it special? How does one know that he/she is served with that fish and not just any fish?
Whew, I’d love to get a try on that, but I’m wondering how much they sell those in the restaurants, I bet it’s as expensive as the bidding!