TOKYO — A giant bluefin tuna fetched $177,000 in an auction Tuesday at the world’s largest wholesale fish market in Japan.
The 513-pound fish was the priciest since 2001, when a 440-pound tuna sold for a record $220,000 at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market.
The gargantuan tuna was bought and shared by the owners of a Japanese sushi restaurant and a Hong Kong-based sushi bar, a market representative said 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 tuna came from abroad.
Japan is the world’s biggest consumer of seafood. However, tuna consumption in Japan has declined because of a prolonged economic slump. Wholesalers also are worried about growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks.
