Kicker: The price of bluefin

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Here’s a fish story that’s no tall tale! A quarter-ton bluefin tuna sold for a record $3.2 million dollars at a Tokyo fish market. Winning bidder? A sushi mogul named Kihoshi Kimura. He described the auction as a kind of coaster ride: the price just kept going up (but evidently never down)!

KIMURA: (In Japanese) The price went up and up and up. It was like being on a jet coaster ride. It went higher than expected. I think it was around 510 million yen ($3.2 million) It was over 50 million. We are going to face some funding issues. I need to work hard. The shape and its fine grained fat. I think it would taste great, too. I haven’t tried it myself but I think it would be good.

Roughly translated, Kimura’s explaining he may have funding issues, admitting his bid was much higher than his budget. But that nice looking tuna with its fine grained fat and luscious texture was just irresistible. This may be what it looks like when a sushi master’s eyes are bigger than his bank account.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.