This 754 pound tuna was caught off the Northern coast of Japan, and was one of over 500 that went up for auction on Wednesday. This extraordinary fish was bought by the owners of Kyubey and Itamae sushi restaurants for $396,000 on the opening day of the Tsukiji fish market. Apparently, this is no ordinary fish market, and the opening day often garners enormous gains. In 2001, the precious record was set when a 445 pound fish sold for 20.2 yen. If you break down the price of this 754 pounder, it comes to a cost of $526 a pound. That’s some tuna.
The Bluefin Tuna is actually quite overfished, and a lot of restaurants have taken it off their menus for this reason. But the Japanese continue to consume about 80% of all Bluefins caught in the Pacific or Atlantic. New fishing restrictions have caused prices to rise, but even at exorbitant prices, it seems like there’s still a solid market for these fish.