Fishing vessels arrive at Pier 38 through the night and into the early morning
Fishing vessels arrive at Pier 38 through the night and into the early morning
All registered in Hawaii's fleet, they dock after weeks at sea
The first boats into port will see their catches auctioned off first
Swathed in ice, a school of onaga heads for the auction floor
Large fish like ahi are weighed and tagged fresh off the boat
Ahi await their entrance onto the auction floor
Big fish: premium prices for premium quality rank Honolulu's auction fourth in the U.S.
First in to port, first up on the board: buyers can call in for a preview of the day's vessels and their catch
At 5:30 sharp, the auctioneer—in this case, Brooks Takenaka—rings the brass bell that has opened the auction since it began in 1952
On the floor today: fresh mahimahi
Nationwide, appetites for opah, or moonfish, are growing
Fresh opelu appear to swim across a sea of ice
Ahi is the target species for Hawaii's fishing fleet: at New Year's, retail prices can top $40 a pound
Auction workers cut three ahi samples for buyers to inspect: here, a wedge cut
Tail cut shows freshness, color, texture and fat content
During bidding, buyers have split-seconds to judge a fish
Experienced buyers can tell the number of days since a fish was landed
One step ahead of the bidding huddle, a buyer inspects a core sample
A wholesaler wins a bid
It takes the auctioneer two seconds to tag the fish with the winner's price
No loitering: the huddle moves on to the next fish
Workers load the still-icy fish into refrigerated trucks. Wholesalers, retailers, mom-and-pop stores and restaurants will finish processing the fish for consumers
Hawaii's love of raw ahi demands penultimate quality. One fish yields an amazing variety of sashimi—got shoyu?
