Rs 1.8-cr tuna sparks extinction fears

A bluefin tuna fetched a record 32.49m yen (Rs 1.8 crore) yesterday at the first auction of the year at Tsukiji market in Tokyo, but the fish's growing popularity across Asia has raised fears it will soon be fished into commercial extinction.

The 342-kg tuna easily beat the previous record, set exactly 10 years ago when a 202-kg fish fetched 20.2 million yen (Rs 1.1 crore).

Market officials are accustomed to seeing prices rise during the new year auction at Tsukiji, the world's biggest fish market, but yesterday's winning bid was unexpected.

The tuna, one of more than 500 shipped in from around the world, will be divided between two sushi restaurants one in Tokyo the other in Hong Kong which joined forces at the dawn auction for the third year in a row.

Ricky Cheng, the owner of the Hong Kong restaurant, said, "Good tuna is really selling to people in Hong Kong and China, and this is a really good fish."

The joint bid reflects the growing popularity of bluefin tuna in other parts of Asia, particularly China, and adds to concerns that surging demand means its days could be numbered.

Japan consumes about 80 per cent of Pacific and Atlantic bluefin tuna, and has been accused of stifling international attempts to reduce fishing quotas or ban the trade altogether.

Bluefin's popularity in Japan, where it is eaten raw as sushi or sashimi, shows no sign of abating. The Japanese eat about 600,000 tonnes of tuna annually.

Top-grade otoro the fattiest cut of tuna can sell for as much as 2,000 yen (R1,090) a piece at exclusive Tokyo restaurants. The flesh on the record-breaking tuna will go for 95,000 yen (R51,750) a kilo.