I slept through my 3:00am alarm to witness the tuna auction… Still, we managed to get there early enough and caught a bit of the action…
Arriving at the south gate of the whole-sale area of the market. Judging by the many open boxes, the market has already started.
There was a hustle and a bustle inside, as loads of fork lifts and carts were rushing around.
Whole-sale shops are lined up in a dozen of very long and narrow alleys. It’s wet, there is a lot to look at and we can hear the vendors’ at work.
A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.
A vendor is waiting for potential customers.
Everybody is at work and while men handle the fishes, women take care of business in little shacks
Tools and left overs
Tuna chunks are kept in large fridges, waiting to be detailed and sold to large restaurants or retailers.
Fresh cuts and prices.
From $30USD/kg to $85USD ad above, the leaner the tuna is, the more expensive it gets.
Medium fat tuna close up.
Some customers come to the market to bargain with vendors.
While others do business on the phone.
Once the deal is closed, the buyer’s name is painted or stamped on the fish.
Besides tuna, plenty of smaller fishes are being prepared and sold at the market. Salting salmons.
Cutting up a sole filet.
Big round eyes waiting for his faith to be decided.
Under the captivated eyes of the visitors!
An old timer at his sea weed stand. Fruits, vegetables and spices are also sold on the outter edge of the market.
By 10.30am, many shops were already done for the day.
Outside, retailers offer fresh cuts.
Remember that salmon that was being salted earlier? Well, it’s probably the same.
Improvised sushi counters pop-up in between the stands. Here you can taste the freshest sushi and sashimi of your life.
We opted for a sushi restaurant rather than the street counters.
Yummy!
Additional thoughts
Watching the tuna ritual was one-of-a-kind experience. However, it’s worth mentioning that overfishing is a real problem and already caused the extinction of many species.
When you read about it, it’s clear that regulations exist but aren’t fully enforced. The most efficient fishing technics do not differentiate adult tunas from the young ones, causing the whole population to decline. And it takes 10 years for a tuna to reach its adult size of 100kg. In the few last decades, fishermen not only noticed a decrease in the size of their catch, but also witnessed entire species of fish to disappear from the market stalls.
The increase of sushi as a commodity in the 80’s and 90’s throughout the world was a big reason for the growing demand of tuna, hence the current overfishing. We heard that just 30 years ago in Japan, eating sushi was a rare opportunity because it was an expensive dish.
A gentle reminder for us that even the most wonderful vagabonding times shouldn’t be taken for granted.
As consumers and self-proclaimed world citizens, it’s important that we change some of our habits and find ways to take action. Something to focus on next week at the retreat and in the years to come.
** Note: i was particularly happy with the pictures from this market excursion, i barely did any post-production/editing on it 🙂