A single tuna fish sold for 1.7 million dollars

A single bluefin tuna has sold in Japan for 155m yen ($1.7m; £1.05m), almost triple the record price set last year. The price works out at about $7,600 per kg ($3,500/lb).

High bids traditionally mark the year's first auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market even the buyer, sushi chain owner Kiyoshi Kimura, who also paid out the record price last year, said the cost was "a bit high".

 Japan consumes more than half of the world's bluefin catch and most of Tuna caught in the world are shipped there

Kiyoshi Kimura fillets the fish

The winning bidder, Kiyoshi Kimura (centre), president of Kiyomura Co., operates the Sushi-Zanmai restaurant chain

Kiyomura Co employees push a cart carrying the 222kg tuna

A member of staff at the sushi restaurant polishes the tuna in front of a crowd

A customer tastes the dish at Sushi Zanmai

Crowds look on as the tuna is carved up for sale

This bluefin tuna sold for a record £1.09million at a Tokyo auction today, nearly three times the previous high set last year

A chef proudly holds the head of the giant tuna

A chef serves three-style tuna sushi cooked from the 222-kilogram bluefin tuna