The highest bidder at a Tokyo fish market said he paid $1.3 million for a tuna on Sunday, the second-highest price ever paid at the annual prestigious New Year’s auction.

Michelin-starred sushi restaurants Onodera Group said they paid ¥207 million for a 608-pound bluefin tuna, about the size and weight of a motorcycle.

It is the second highest price paid at this year’s opening auction at Tokyo’s main fish market since comparable data began to be collected in 1999.

Power buyers have now paid the highest price for five years in a row – winning bragging rights and a lucrative frenzy of media attention in Japan.

“The first tuna is something that should bring good luck,” Onodera official Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction. “Our wish is that people eat this and have a wonderful year.”

Onodera Group paid 114 million yen for premium tuna last year.

But the highest auction price ever was ¥333.6 million for a 612 pounds of bluefin in 2019because the fish market was moved from the traditional area of ​​Tsukiji to a modern facility in nearby Toyosu.

The record bid was made by self-proclaimed “tuna king” Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs the nationwide Sushi Zanmai restaurant chain.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Year’s tuna was at a fraction of its usual peak prices, as the public was discouraged from eating out and restaurants had limited operations.

The Pacific bluefin tuna is the largest tuna species in the Pacific with adults reaching nearly 10 feet in length and 1,000 pounds.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies Pacific bluefin tuna as vulnerable. However, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationthe fish population has been growing in recent years. An assessment released in June found that Pacific bluefin tuna had “exceeded international targets a decade ahead of schedule,” NOAA said.