$632,000 Tuna Sold at Tokyo Auction for Some Pricey Sushi

A $632,000 tuna was sold at an auction in downtown Tokyo on Thursday.

Kiyomura Corp. owner Kiyoshi Kimura paid for the tuna at the annual New Year auction at the Tsukiji market, according to USA Today. Many environmental experts fear that overfishing could cause the animal to go extinct.

Kimura’s company, which runs the Sushi Zanmai chain, has won its share of auctions in the past, according to NBC News.

Bluefin tuna is in high demand, as its population went from 4.2 percent of its "unfished" size in to 2.6 percent last year, NBC News noted.

“This tuna is being fished at rates up to three times higher than scientists say is sustainable,” Amanda Nickson, director of global tuna conservation at The Pew Charitable Trusts said in a recent report, according to NBC News.

Pew and several environmental groups are calling for a ban on commercial fishing of bluefin tuna for at least two years because of overfishing.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, bluefin are the largest tuna and can live up to 40 years.

Bluefin tuna are known for their speed and can dive more than 4,000 feet.

The 466-pound bluefin that was sold Thursday is said to have been caught off the coast of northern Japan.

• $66 Collard Greens From Neiman Marcus All Sold Out
• Bumble Bee Recalls Tuna: 30K Cases Pulled Over Potential Spoiling
• Chicken of the Sea Tuna Recall: 107K Cans Pulled for Possible Contamination