# Honolulu Fish Auction



## apicius9 (Dec 1, 2012)

I had wanted to go there for a long time, never made it. Today I was there at 6am, ready with my camera  In order to keep tourists from wandering around and getting in the way, they offer tours with a guide. Very professional, actually, with headsets so you can hear what he says. The Honolulu Fish auction is the largest in the US, I think the largest outside of Japan. Right now, with the holidays coming up, it's all about tuna - they currently sell about 100,000 pounds of tuna *per day*. Most of it caught between 50 and 200 miles off the islands, all of it with long lines. About 60% of the catch stay in Hawaii. Few other fish to see right now, but 6am is also late to get there, they start around 1am with setting everything up and I heard they had sold some nice swordfish earlier.. Very cool experience. I took tons of pics, don't have the time to really post process them much right now (some need it because the light is awkward), so here are the ones that caught my eye with minimal changes as a slideshow. I wish I knew how to embed a slide show...

http://www.flickr.com//photos/mgapicius/sets/72157632148447542/show/

Stefan


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## DeepCSweede (Dec 1, 2012)

My local purveyor gets a lot of their fish from them and has it shipped same day. Very cool share.


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## geezr (Dec 1, 2012)

WOW nice pics :doublethumbsup:


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## Von blewitt (Dec 1, 2012)

Thanks Stefan, very cool, did you grab anything for yourself to take home?


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## Deckhand (Dec 1, 2012)

Wow, nice pics! I will take an Ono.


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## apicius9 (Dec 1, 2012)

I'm flying out to the mainland for a week tomorrow, otherwise I would have loved to walk out there with a small ahi. I'm not even sure I could buy one there as a private person, totally forgot to ask.

Stefan


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## Johnny.B.Good (Dec 1, 2012)

Great pictures, Stefan.


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## eaglerock (Dec 1, 2012)

Awesome pictures, thank you for sharing


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## steeley (Dec 1, 2012)

Epic pictures Stefan .
Thanks for putting them up.


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## Jmadams13 (Dec 1, 2012)

Thanks for sharing. Looks like it was an amazing experience


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## Duckfat (Dec 2, 2012)

Awesome photos. We've been to Hawaii several times but the fish market is not something I've ever seen. I've read other articles and every time I see photos like this it just makes me want to go back again!

Dave


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## jmforge (Dec 2, 2012)

I have a negative reaction any time that I see the term longline used. Interesting place. One of those species looks a bit cloudy eyed. Ain't gonna get no French housewife to buy that.:lol2:


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Dec 2, 2012)

Sweet thanks for that! Living in Colorado, I really miss fresh fish.


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## apicius9 (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks guys! I understand they can be out there up to three weeks, maybe that is the reason why some eyes look cloudier than others. You could also clearly see which tuna was fresher than others by the color and the texture of the cuts that were placed on every single fish. Of course, those factors get reflected in the price they are going for. 

Stefan


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## sw2geeks (Dec 2, 2012)

Cool pics! I like how they have little cross cut sections so you can see what you are getting.


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## mano (Dec 2, 2012)

Amazing and great pics.


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## chinacats (Dec 2, 2012)

Cool, thanks!


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## jmforge (Dec 3, 2012)

Stefan, our captain and mate said that the yellowfin tuna that we would eat might have been classified as a lower grade if it ever showed up at auction, but at the time we were eating it, it was about as good as any "sahimi grade" stuff because it had been swimming a few hours before that. I think that a lot of the grading relates somewhat to how well the stuff will travel. Our little Atlantic blackfin tuna is not a commercially exploited species for that very reason. it is quite good, but must be consumed in a matter of a couple of days or it starts going bad and even fast freezing it doesn't seem to help. I am amazed to see that many wahoo in one place. Hawaii might be one of the few places where you can find enough of those fish running together to make them commercially viable. Down here , they tend to run alone or maybe in 2's or 3's at best.


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## quantumcloud509 (Dec 3, 2012)

Thats so cool man.


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## Chuckles (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks for sharing!


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## Korin_Mari (Dec 4, 2012)

Awesome pictures! Do you go often? Thanks for sharing.


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