A single blue-fin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) weighing 342 kg (754 lb) was sold at an auction in the Tsukji fish market in Tokyo, Japan, on 5 January 2011, where it raised 34.49 million Yen ($420,000 or £270,000). The fish, caught off Japan”s northern island of Hokkaido as part of the country”s annual tuna-fishing allowance, was bought jointly by the owners of a restaurant in Hong Kong and a chain of sushi bars in Tokyo. Sold as o-toro, fatty blue-fin tuna sells for around 2,000 yen ($24.30 or £15.60) per piece in high-end Tokyo restaurants.

The growing demand for sushi in China is pushing up tuna prices, but fishing restrictions are currently in place to protect dwindling stocks. The winning bid was made by Ricky Cheng (Hong Kong) of the Itamae sushi group and the Kyubey restaurant in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan.
The price paid was the equivalent of 95,000 Yen per kilogram.