Kiyoshi Kimura, who calls himself the “Tuna King,” purchased a 608-pound bluefin tuna at a New Year’s auction at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo earlier this week
Kimura, who made the purchase on Jan. 5, purchased the gargantuan tuna for 193 million yen, which is currently worth about $1,780,811, according to the New York Post.
The bluefin tuna was caught in the area between the two islands composing Japan, in the Aomori prefecture, according to Japanese public broadcasting company NHK, as reported by to the New York Post.
The pacific bluefin tuna Kimura purchases is one of the three subspecies of bluefin tuna. While it is the only subspecies that is not yet endangered or critically endangered, it was categorized by the International Union for Conservation and Nature as ‘vulnerable’ in 2014.
This purchase was not Kimura’s first time paying millions for a fish. At the Toyosu fish market 2019 auction celebrating the new year, Kimura purchased a bluefin tuna weighing in at 612 pounds for over $3 million, paying an extra $1.2 million for 4 more pounds of fish.
While bluefin tuna prices can vary from $40 to $200 per pound, this year’s auction price cost Kimura just under $3,000 per pound.
Kimura acknowledged the heavy expense while speaking with reporters from AFP after the auction.
“Yes, this is expensive, isn’t it? I want our customers to eat very tasty ones this year too.”
Kiyomura Corp. plans to serve the $1.8 million fish to customers at their nearby Sushizanmai restaurant in Tsukiji, and will provide enough tuna for 10,000 pieces of sushi NPR reports.