tuna at $3,500 per pound

A single 489-pound bluefin tuna fetched $1.7 million at auction.

High bids traditionally mark the year's first auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market....
The prices do not necessarily reflect quality or size and are more linked to publicity and setting the tone for the business year....
[The buyer] said he wanted to "encourage Japan" with his bid....

Japan consumes more than half of the world's bluefin catch.
New figures to be released on Monday are expected to show a continued decline in Pacific bluefin stocks.