[9:07 p.m. | Update | The first Tokyo tuna auction of 2013, on Saturday, saw a single 489-pound bluefin sell for astonishing $1.76 million, according to the Associated Press *:
The winning bidder, Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., which operates the Sushi-Zanmai restaurant chain, said ‘‘the price was a bit high,’’ but that he wanted to ‘‘give Japan a boost,’’ according to Kyodo News agency. He was planning to serve the fish to customers later Saturday.
Here's the post as filed this morning, when $700,000 was considered a big number for the ceremonial first sale:]
Here’s a quick note from the global tuna conservation team at the Pew Environment Group:
Within the next few days, the first giant Pacific bluefin tuna of 2013 is expected to be auctioned in Tokyo for an astronomical price. Last January, one fish sold for a record $736,000 and made headlines around the world. Purchasing a single bluefin for such a remarkably high price has become an annual cultural event in Japan. But, the fanfare surrounding this event masks a real and pressing problem: the population of this majestic fish is a fraction of what it used to be, and management is practically non-existent.
Scientists are expected to come out with a new stock assessment for Pacific bluefin on Monday, January 7. According to our sources, the new results are alarming and indicate further decline of the species.
10:32 p.m. |Update
* I encourage you to read the comments below from “Meltydown” (a k a Danny Bloom, a longtime journalist currently in Taiwan but previously working in Japan). He notes that these are not actual auctions, but promotional “sales” of fish done as publicity stunts. I’m eager to hear more about this.
9:52 p.m. |Update
When I sent this post to various marine scientists and conservationists this morning, Sylvia Earle replied this way:
If people could see tuna living wild in the ocean and understand the miracle of their existence they might worship them for something other than the taste of their flesh.
| Related |
The status of bluefin tuna in the Pacific is tracked by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean. Also explore the work of the Tag-a-Giant project.
Paul Greenberg‘s 2010 article for The Times Magazine, “Tuna’s End,” is still an essential read, as is Richard Ellis’s 2008 book, “Tuna: A Love Story.”