TOKYO -- As happens every year, bluefin tuna from Oma, Aomori Prefecture, sold for the highest price at 2015's first auction held Monday on Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. The fish went for 4.51 million yen ($37,474). This is less than one-thirtieth of its peak of over the 150 million yen it logged two years ago. At that time, this news attracted much attention.
Now, bidders eager to benefit from the buzz around overpriced tuna have stepped away from the overheated market. In a sense, the auction is back where it should be: Prices of fish are being determined by fundamentals. People pay based on the value of the fish itself and supply-demand conditions. This year, the price fell 20% on the year to 25,000 yen per kilogram, its lowest since 2008.
