A massive 243kg (535lb) bluefin tuna has been sold for a record 510 million yen (£2.4m) to a Japanese sushi restaurant.
The huge catch was sold to Kiyomura Corp, whose owner, Kiyoshi Kimura, runs the popular Sushi Zanmai chain.
Mr Kimura, known as the “Tuna King” of Japan, has won the annual auction several times in the past and broke the previous record of 334 million yen (£1.6m) he set in 2019.
He said he was hoping to pay less for the fish but “the price shot up before you knew it”.
It was by far the highest-ever price paid at the annual New Year auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market.
The prized fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan. The region is known for producing some of the country’s finest tuna.
“It’s in part for good luck,” Mr Kimura said. “But when I see a good-looking tuna, I cannot resist… I haven’t sampled it yet, but it’s got to be delicious.”
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The giant tuna was transported to Sushi Zanmai’s head branch before being sliced up and distributed to its restaurants around the country.
Mr Kimura said the tuna dishes will be sold to customers at the usual price.
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The popularity of tuna for sushi and sashimi led Pacific bluefin tuna to become a threatened species due to climate change and overfishing, though its stock is recovering after conservation efforts.
