Japanese Sushi Magnate Kicks Off 2019 by Ridiculous Overpaying for Bluefin, Fixing It

A Japanese restaurateur set a record on Saturday by paying nearly $ 3.1 million (333.6 million yen) for a massive 613 pound Pacific fish tuna at the first auction of the year in The Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, and almost immediately admitted that he might not have paid that much, Reuters reported.

Sushizanmai chain owner Kiyoshi Kimura, who held the same record for six straight years until he was overblown last year – apparently paid over $ 5000 pounds for the fish. There is very much a huge premium over the $ 40 per kilogram yard on the side-closed Tsukiji market in 2018, quoted by the Associated Press. Talk to reporters, Reuters wrote, Kimura said he might "do too much" and probably paid five times as much as he originally intended:

"The tuna looks so tasty and very fresh, but I think I did for a lot, "Kimura told reporters outside the market later.

"I expected that there would be between 30 million and 50 million yen, or 60 million yen at its highest, but it ended five times more."

(Fortunately for Kimura wallet, his firm Kiyomura Corp will lay foot. )

Bluefish used to be a relatively undesirable catch of fish, but it has grown in popularity thanks to its use in sushi and sashimi. According to the NPR, some estimates at the current Pacific population point to only 2.6 percent of historical levels; The IUCN's red list categorizes it as threatened, while the Atlantic blue danger is threatened and southern blue figs are threatened.

Groups controlling the Pacific species reached an agreement in 2017 to attempt to grow population levels to 20 percent of historical levels by the mid-2030s, and according to AP, Japan has begun to enforce laws prohibiting catches exceeding quotas , with offenders who are fines or possible imprisonment. "(Less encouraging: The US government rejected an attempt to reclassify Pacific species that threatened that year.)

But as the Atlantic noted in 2014, record-breaking bluefin prices are much less about top-quality fish stocks than public stocks.

Southern Fried Science's Andrew David Thaler told the magazine that winning the first tuna auction of the year is not only regarded as an honor but a great promotional game and a reminder to start rivals as the biggest fish in 9659006] "Among the consumers of the Tsukiji fish auction, it is considered an honor to buy the first blue fines in the new years, and the bid wars reflect this struggle for status," Thaler told the Atlantic. "… So many auction customers Knowing that landing a high, early win is a way to mark the territory and let your competitors know that you have the bankroll to push them out of a bidding war. " does not sell the real market price of the fish, says Jamie Gibbon from the Pew Trust Global Conservation Team to the AP. "It's wrapped up with the ceremonial aspects of the auction."

According to NPR, when the fish is cut, it should provide at least 12,000 sushi types to Sushizanmai customers.

[Reuters]