The bluefin tuna near Tsukiji fish market.

A BLUEFIN tuna caught off north-eastern Japan fetched a record 56.49 million yen, or about €572,000, in the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market.

The price for the 593-pound (269kg) tuna beat last year’s record of €329,000.

The price translates to €2,126 per pound, also a record, said Yutaka Hasegawa, a Tsukiji market official.

Though the fish is undoubtedly high quality, the price has more to do with the celebratory atmosphere that surrounds the first auction of the year.

The winning bidder was Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co, which operates the Sushi-Zanmai restaurant chain.