“Fat as a cow”: a giant tuna was sold at an auction in Japan for 1.3 million dollars (2 photos + 1 video)

A 276-kilogram bluefin tuna has become the second most expensive fish in the history of the New Year's auction at the Toyosu market. The buyer says that the first tuna of the year brings good luck.





The report notes that the Toyosu market has become one of the main tourist spots in the Japanese capital in recent years.

The 276-kilogram bluefin tuna was caught off the coast of the town of Oma on Saturday, January 4, in the morning, and was already on display at the fish market at 5:10 a.m. the next day.

"It was as fat as a cow. It's like a dream. I always worry about how many more years I can do this job, but I'm incredibly happy," said 73-year-old fisherman Masahiro Takeuchi, who caught the giant fish.

The price of 207 million yen ($1.3 million) was the second-highest price in the auction's history and gives hope for further economic growth in the country, Japanese journalists write. The tuna was jointly bought by an intermediate wholesaler and the company that runs the Sushi Ginza Onodera restaurant chain.



"The first tuna of the year brings good luck. We want to make people smile with food," said company president Shinji Nagao.

According to journalists, the most expensive fish in the history of the auction in Toyosu remains bluefin tuna, which sold for 333.6 million yen (about $1.6 million) in 2019.

After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the price dropped sharply to 20.8 million yen in 2021, rose to 36 million in 2023, and at the 2024 New Year's auction, the most expensive tuna was sold for 114.2 million yen.