Competing for the best catch at the Honolulu Fish Auction

Hundreds of fish lay on pallets on the Honolulu Fish Auction’s floor.

Inside the auction’s facility of the Commercial Fishing Village on Pier 38, auctioneers are calling prices, potential buyers are inspecting the fish and others continue to line up the day’s catch.

More than 100,000 pounds of fish can pass through the auction every day.

"Today we have about 100,000 roughly, which is about six boats," said Guy Tamashiro, vice-president of Tamashiro Market Inc.

For most, the workday begins at 1 a.m. when the fishermen’s catch is unloaded.

Mimicking a school of the fish they contend to buy, a group of approximately 10 buyers surround an auctioneer. The group moves at a set pace down aisles lined with yellowfin tuna, swordfish and marlins.

"It’s like a circus and a poker-game," Tamashiro said.

After each fish is weighed, tagged with the vessel name and inspected by a member from the United Fishing Agency staff, it is placed on the pallets to be sold.

The majority of the fish at the Honolulu Fish Auction are sold individually instead of selling an entire boat’s catch to one wholesale buyer.

This can lead to intense competition, Tamashiro said.

"All you need is two people who really want the fish and the price can get really stupid," Tamashiro said. "Over the years, I have seen coffee fly across the room. It gets heated sometimes."

Some of the fish that stay in Hawaii are sold on Oahu or flown to neighbor islands. Some are sold and shipped across the country or worldwide.

"There is really a world market and whoever pays the most will get the fish. A lot of our fish will go to the mainland because they are willing to pay the price," Tamashiro said. "Hawaii has really, really good fish. So, the demand is there. As long as other countries aren’t catching, the prices here go even higher."

The Honolulu Fish Auction is the only auction between Tokyo, Japan and Maine.

With a reservation, the public can take tours of the auction on Saturday mornings from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Tour cost is $25 for adults and $20 for children 8 to 12 years old.