A 278‑kilogram bluefin tuna sold for a record NZ$4.45 million in the first auction of 2019, after Tokyo's famed Tsukiji market was moved to a new site on the city's waterfront.
The winning bid for the prized but threatened species at the predawn auction was more than double the 2013 annual New Year auction.
The auction prices are way above usual for bluefin tuna. The fish normally sells for up to NZ$130 a kilogram but the price rises to over NZ$297 a pound near the year's end, especially for prized catches from Oma in northern Japan.
[Source: TVNZ]
