Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss How long will it take to grow one big tuna?

Maybe set up a raceway with recirculating saltwater and feed him green carp from the public lakes?

Giant tuna fetches $177,000 at Japan fish auction

By SHINO YUASA, Associated Press Writer Shino Yuasa, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 5, 6:28 am ET

TOKYO – A giant bluefin tuna fetched 16.3 million yen ($177,000) in an auction Tuesday at the world's largest wholesale fish market in Japan.

The 513-pound (233-kilogram) fish was the priciest since 2001 when a 440-pound (200 kilogram) tuna sold for a record 20.2 million yen ($220,000) at Tokyo's Tsukiji market.

The gargantuan tuna was bought and shared by the owners of two Japanese sushi restaurants and one Hong Kong-based sushi establishment, said a market representative on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Caught off the coast of northern Japan, the big tuna was among 570 put up for auction Tuesday. About 40 percent of the auctioned fish came from abroad, including from Indonesia and Mexico, the representative said.

Japan is the world's biggest consumer of seafood with Japanese eating 80 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught. The two tuna species are the most sought after by sushi lovers.

However, tuna consumption in Japan has declined because of a prolonged economic slump as the world's second-largest economy struggles to shake off its worst recession since World War II.

"Consumers are shying away from eating tuna ... We are very worried about the trend," the market representative said.

Apart from falling demand for tuna, wholesalers are worried about growing calls for tighter fishing rules amid declining tuna stocks.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November slashed the quota for the 2010 catch by about one-third to 13,500 tons (12,250 metric tons) — a move criticized by environmentalists as not going far enough.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_japan_giant_tuna_sold

I think you better figure out how much salt to add to your ponds to grow some tuna. That's got to beat out your profit margin on those gorgeous trout you raise??

320# takes 5 to 8 years is what I could find. I don't know how large they raise them in cages, but they are raising them. It is pretty labor intensive, they have to send down divers every day to check the netting for holes, and repair them, plus remove any sharks that are able to get thru the netting.

Then there is the slight expense of shipping the fresh dead Tuna to the market on a plane.........

Guys you are too serious. My post was tongue in cheek.

But you've got to admit that's a lot of money for one fish!

How long would it take to preserve and display it? How would you mount it, Cecil?
(no Theo, not with a saddle)

They get silly $$ for some of the Tuna over there! IIRC, there were 5 huge Bluefin caught off of the Ca. coast some years ago. One fisherman gambled and flew one to the market over there, and got more $$ than the other 4 fish brought over here combined.

I've seen some mounts of large tuna and it's gotta be a LOT of work.

Dude, dorsal spines would really hurt bareback.

No one would even be crazy enough to attempt it. Most saltwater fish are fiberglass reproductions due to their size, or the fact that the skin is oily. However if you remove it completely with solvent like we do with trout and salmon skins, the skin of the saltwater fish falls apart. But the dilemma is, if you don't remove the oil the skin bleeds the oil out over time. Hence part of the reason for a fiberglass mold made of saltwater fish.