A real heavyweight went under the hammer in Gothenburg on Tuesday, when a 216-kilogram bluefin tuna was auctioned off, according to local media reports. The sale marked an unusual event for the city’s fish market, where the last tuna changed hands back in 2020.
The bluefin tuna is a protected species in Sweden, but this specimen could still be sold because it was caught as bycatch by a Danish fishing boat rather than deliberately targeted. “Then you can bring in the fish and sell it, but it is unusual for that to happen,” said Roger Thilander, chief executive of the Gothenburg Fish Auction, speaking to Goteborgs-Posten.
Interest in the catch was strong. The winning bid came in at 260 kronor per kilo, bringing the total to 56,160 kronor for the single fish. “That’s a lot of money for a fish,” Thilander told the paper, capturing both the rarity of the sale and the appetite it generated among buyers.
Bluefin tuna, prized in kitchens around the world, has become a rare sight in Swedish waters, and its protected status means such auctions are the exception rather than the rule. For the Gothenburg market, the sale offered a brief and lucrative reminder of the days when the species was a more regular part of the catch.
