'New Year Tuna' sells for $1.7M at Tokyo's famous Tsukiji fish market.
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Business is booming for the Japanese fish market with a sale of a single tuna clocking in at a whopping 1.7 million USD at the New Year opening tuna auction in Tokyo on Saturday (January 5).
More than triple the price of last year's highest bid, one pound of the northern Japan tuna will cost nearly 3,600 USD.
The highest bidder was the owner of popular sushi chain 'Sushi Zanmai' located nation-wide Kiyoshi Kimura.
The pricey tuna was immediately transported from the Tokyo-based Tsukiji fish market several blocks to a branch of Sushi Zanmai, where some customers were lucky to get a slice of the celebrity bluefin.
Blue fin is the highest grade of tuna, and is known for its tender meat.
Smashing all previous records, this sale may mean that the marine products industry could be looking at a profitable 2013.
[Hiroyuki Taguchi, Daiichi Marine President]:
"Last year I stood here in the same place to report that there was no significant change in the marine product industry, but this year there will be a change.
With the motions set in place by the recent government election last year to this year, we have already been able to surpass the previous prices."
Tuna is one of the fish dearest to Japanese hearts, and bluefin one of the most prized of tunas, with Japan consuming over half of the world's bluefin even as supplies dwindle and fishing quotas tighten.
The Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo is a popular tourist destination attracting hundreds of visitors daily.
The stalls of the market trade millions of dollars of fish and vegetables every day.
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