giant tuna fetches $177,000 at Japan fish auction!

Record price, amazing. :wow:



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_giant_tuna_sold


Giant tuna fetches $177,000 at Japan fish auction

• http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100105/ca...gosNTkrv1FGw-- AP – Retailers stand about fresh tunas during their first business at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, …

By SHINO YUASA, Associated Press Writer Shino Yuasa, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 5, 6:28 am ET
TOKYO – A giant bluefin tuna fetched 16.3 million yen ($177,000) in an auction Tuesday at the world's largest wholesale fish market in Japan.
The 513-pound (233-kilogram) fish was the priciest since 2001 when a 440-pound (200 kilogram) tuna sold for a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) at Tokyo's Tsukiji market.
The gargantuan tuna was bought and shared by the owners of two Japanese sushi restaurants and one Hong Kong-based sushi establishment, said a market representative on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.
Caught off the coast of northern Japan, the big tuna was among 570 put up for auction Tuesday. About 40 percent of the auctioned fish came from abroad, including from Indonesia and Mexico, the representative said.
Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood with Japanese eating 80 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught. The two tuna species are the most sought after by sushi lovers.
However, tuna consumption in Japan has declined because of a prolonged economic slump as the world's second-largest economy struggles to shake off its worst recession since World War II.
"Consumers are shying away from eating tuna ... We are very worried about the trend," the market representative said.
Apart from falling demand for tuna, wholesalers are worried about growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November slashed the quota for the 2010 catch by about one-third to 13,500 tons (12,250 metric tons) — a move criticized by environmentalists as not going far enough.

Hard to believe that a tuna can go for this much. :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by finchaser

The Asians will deplete the oceans of bluefin tuna supplied primarily from America do to greed.:(

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by plugcrazy

Giant tuna fetches $177,000 at Japan fish auction

• http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100105/ca...gosNTkrv1FGw-- AP – Retailers stand about fresh tunas during their first business at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Tuesday, …

.
The 513-pound (233-kilogram) fish was the priciest since 2001 when a 440-pound (200 kilogram) tuna sold for a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) at Tokyo's Tsukiji market.
However, tuna consumption in Japan has declined because of a prolonged economic slump as the world's second-largest economy struggles to shake off its worst recession since World War II.
"Consumers are shying away from eating tuna ... We are very worried about the trend," the market representative said.
Apart from falling demand for tuna, wholesalers are worried about growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November slashed the quota for the 2010 catch by about one-third to 13,500 tons (12,250 metric tons) — a move criticized by environmentalists as not going far enough.

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I don't know if that will come to pass finchaser, but I would certainly appreciate hearing more specific numbers in support of your opinion. I do agree in principle with what you're saying. The Asians are the biggest consumers of tuna in the world. The figures above show a decline in prices from 2001. Also they talk about how demand is decreasing. In school when I studied economics, it was shown as relatively easy to decrease quantity demanded by subtle price or quality manipulations.

To decrease demand I remember is much harder, and once it occurs, it's hard to manipulate the process as this means the market is in control and not the price manipulators. The way I understood the article, demand seems to be trending downward. In any event, that seems like a good thing. I remember when giant tuna were caught out of the Mud Hole 30 years ago, and now you have to go to Mass or PEI to have a reasonable chance at one.

Thought you guys might appreciate this. It's from the perspective of a cook, not a fisherman.

How much will a Japanese sushi restaurant pay for the last fish?

Japan has only 2% of the world's population, but consumes 10% of the worlds fish, at 11:30 in the video. At the end of it, they show fish farming bft.