It is one of the well recommended attractions in Hawaii travel books. If you are from the mainland, chances are you have to adjust to Pacific Time which is 6 hours behind from the East Coast and 3 hours behind from the West Coast.
The auction starts at 5:30 am and open till all the fish were sold. The facility was a refrigerated warehouse that houses tons of fishes that were caught on that day. We went there wearing shorts and flip flops only to get yelled at for not being prepared. It turns out that it is cold at the warehouse; they mentioned that it is maintained at a consistent 50 degrees and you need slip proof shoes since the floors are consistently wet from melted ice. Flip flops are not allowed.
As we inquire at the front office, they gave us a couple of pamphlets and lent us some sweaters and work boots. We mentioned that we were from the East Coast, we don't shy from the cold since we encounter long winter months. The boots were uncomfortable since they were fitted for men but it does the job of not getting my feet soaked in cold water.
All tunas are cut on the tail to check on the color and quality of the meat. A darker color does not signify freshness. The quality is based on its fat and translucency.
The entrance in the auction warehouse was a wide door way with thick commercial plastic vertical blinds. The place opens up with rows and rows of fish that is sorted by fish types. Each fish has a tag and a barcode. Once the auctioneer starts on the sing-song of inarticulate litany, he stops when he gets the final bid and moves on the next fish. Once the final bid was settled, the barcode gets scanned and tagged with the buyers name along with the sale price then the entire set gets moved on to the next room to get packaged for pick up to its new owners.
Individuals can easily put in a bid. They have to sign up at the auction office and fill up some forms. Payments are cash only. Wholesalers are invoiced for the batch shipped for that day.
It was also mentioned that all fishes displayed for auction gets sold. Any left over fish were likely bottom fishes that were caught on an earlier batch. They also gets purchased for cheap, those are still considered fresh and are still suitable for consumption.
We had a chat with one worker; he mentioned that the auction has been there since the 1950's but lately they are getting a lot of tourist attention. We were probably the second group there and more tourist groups kept on coming after 6:30 am. The friendly chat ended with a free smoked marlin pieces from the friendly worker.
It was mentioned that all the fish served from the island restaurants comes from here. There would a probability that the best chefs in the island were on that group of bidders checking out the best tuna that the island can produce.
Whenever we were having sushi or passing by a fish market, I can't help but wonder if those were the fish we saw at the auction.
You can catch the action of the fish auction at: 1131 N. Nimitz Highway, Pier 38, Honolulu, HI.
For more information on Hawaii Seafood, visit: www.hawaii-seafood.org
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