Japanese businessman Kiyoshi Kimura has paid 1.38 million euros ($1.76 million, or 155.4 million yen) for a blue fin tuna – more than three times the previous high – which he also set one year ago. The 222-kilogram fish will be served to Kimura’s customers. Blue fin tuna is annually sold in a traditional New Year’s auction. Japan consumes 80 percent blue fin tuna caught worldwide.

A bluefin tuna sold for a record $1.76 million at a Tokyo auction, nearly three times the previous high set last year – even as environmentalists warn that stocks of the majestic, speedy fish are being depleted worldwide amid strong demand for sushi. (Photo by Shuji Kajiyama/Associated Press)

People look at the tuna while it was displayed at the restaurant. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/Associatred Press)

President of sushi restaurant chain Sushi-Zanmai, Kiyoshi Kimura, displays a 222kg bluefin tuna at his main restaurant near Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market on January 5, 2013. The bluefin tuna was traded at 155.4 million yen (1.77 million USD) at the wholesale market, smashing a previous record. (Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Photo)

An employee of Kiyomura Co. poses with the head of the bluefin tuna. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/Associatred Press)

Winning bidder Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., cuts the bluefin tuna at his Sushi Zanmai restaurant, January 5, 2013. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/Associated Press)