By 7 a.m., it was over.
All the ahi auctioned at United Fishing Agency on Pier 39 this morning was headed for its eventual destination: your table and tables as far apart as Tokyo and Toronto.

The auction continued, with buyers snapping up also-rans from aiu to uku.
But the big money had already changed hands.
The big daddy of the day: A yellowfin of 270-plus pounds.
Buyer John Hernandez, who sells to markets all across the Mainland and Canada, scored a 234-pounder and stood over it proudly as he waited for it to be carted away. The fish had cost him $10 a pound. At least 35 pounds will be lost in carving it up: the head, bones, collar and so on. At wholesale, $10 a pound is a LOT. Many fish go for less than $1 a pound. It’s a measure of how highly the skilled buyers thought of the color, fat content and flavor they experienced in taking a minute taste of the tail meat before the auction began.
“That’s why the markup has to be what it is,” said Hernandez, of John’s Fresh Fish.
But the markup isn’t so radical that you won’t find beautiful red and fresh ahi for your New Year’s sashimi platters at what have become fairly reasonable prices. Based on a quick survey of Oahu stores this morning, expect to pay anything from $14.99 a pound for tombo ahi (suitable for poke and seared dishes) to as much as $26.99 a pound for the treasured belly fat called “toro.”
Brooks Takenaka, assistant general manager of United Fishing Agency, said there appears to be an ample supply of ahi.
"Every year the concern is whether there's going to be enough fish (and) this year was not any different," he said. "What's interesting is that with all the concern about a shortage, there seems to be more fish this year than last, so go figure."
Takenaka said prices were "all over the place, from as high as $14 to $15 a pound to $2, depending on the quality."