Sharjah24 – AFP: The buyer of a $145,000 tuna at Tokyo's traditional New Year auction said Wednesday he hoped the purchase would "brighten" a Covid-hit 2022.
The top price paid for a tuna at the first auction of the year at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market fell for the third year running, with demand hit by the pandemic.
The 16.88 million yen shelled out jointly by a restaurant operator and a wholesaler for the huge bluefin tuna on Wednesday was far below the 2019 record of 333.6 million yen.
The first tuna auction of the year at Toyosu market is a closely watched tradition that draws a horde of fish wholesalers every year.
Bidders sometimes shell out an enormous amount to win the top-priced tuna, which is seen as bringing good luck, as well as plenty of publicity for the buyer.
Wednesday's top-priced 211-kilogram (465-pound) fish was caught off the northern Aomori region of Japan, famous for its quality tuna, and went to Michelin-starred sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and Japanese wholesaler Yamayuki.
Hours after the early-morning auction, the prize fish was delivered to a restaurant operated by Onodera in Tokyo's upscale Omotesando neighbourhood to be publicly sliced and filleted.
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