Most Expensive Seafood in the World 2026: Top 9 Ranked

As of October 2026, the most expensive seafood in the world is bluefin tuna. On 5 January 2026, a 243 kilogram bluefin caught off Oma in northern Japan sold for 510 million yen, about $3.2 million, at Tokyo’s Toyosu market. That is a record for a single fish and works out to about $6,060 per pound.

Seafood prices depend on rarity, season, size and how the food is sold. Some items set records at a single auction, while others are expensive every day because they are scarce or hard to prepare. The table below lists the highest prices we could verify for each item.

1. Bluefin tuna: $3.2 million

Bluefin tuna is the most prized fish for sushi and sashimi, especially the fatty belly cut known as otoro. Each January, the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Toyosu market draws headline prices, as buyers pay for publicity as well as fish.

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The 2026 record fish weighed 243 kilograms (535 pounds) and was bought by Kiyomura Corp., which runs the Sushi Zanmai chain. Its owner, Kiyoshi Kimura, also set the previous record of 334 million yen in 2019. Normal market prices for bluefin are far lower than these New Year auction figures.

2. Matsuba crab: $46,000

Matsuba crab is the name for male snow crab landed in the San’in region of western Japan. Tottori grades its best crabs by size, shape and leg thickness, and the top grade is nicknamed “five shining stars”.

In November 2019, a single crab of about 2.7 pounds sold for 5 million yen, about $46,000, at the season’s first auction at Tottori port, according to CNBC. It was bought by Tetsuji Hamashita, president of a fish wholesaler. A crab had sold for about $18,000 the year before.

3. Almas caviar: about $25,000 per kg

Almas is a rare, pale caviar from albino beluga sturgeon. The name means “diamond” in Russian. It has been sold by Caviar House and Prunier in London, reportedly in a 24 carat gold tin, at a price widely reported at about $25,000 per kilogram.

Trade in wild beluga caviar is heavily restricted because the species is critically endangered. Almas sold today comes from farmed sturgeon, and prices vary by producer and tin size.

4. Baby eels: up to $2,366 per pound

Baby eels, also called elvers or glass eels, are caught in rivers in Maine each spring. Most are shipped live to East Asia, where they are raised in fish farms and later sold as food, including for Japanese unagi.

According to the Bangor Daily News, the average price peaked at $2,366 per pound in 2018 and stayed above $2,000 in 2022 and 2023. Prices then fell to $1,238 in 2024 and $891 in 2025. In May 2026 the average was only $286 per pound, the lowest since 2011, because supply from Asia increased. Maine’s 2026 catch limit is 9,688 pounds.

5. Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata: $1,000

The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata was a menu item at Norma’s, the breakfast restaurant at the former Le Parker Meridien hotel in New York. It combined eggs, potato, a whole lobster and sevruga caviar, and was reported to cost $1,000.

A larger version with 10 ounces of caviar was reported to cost $2,000. The dish is a rare case where seafood made an ordinary breakfast one of the most expensive in the city.

6. Puffer fish

Puffer fish, known in Japan as fugu, contains tetrodotoxin, a poison that can be deadly if the fish is prepared wrongly. In Japan, chefs need a special licence to serve it, which adds to the cost.

Tiger puffer is the most valued species. It is usually served as very thin sashimi, in hot pot or as fried pieces, often as part of a full course meal in winter. Prices vary widely by city, restaurant and season.

7. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, or fotiaoqiang, is a soup from Fujian cuisine in southern China. It is slow cooked for many hours with luxury ingredients such as abalone, sea cucumber, scallops, fish maw and, in traditional versions, shark fin.

The name is said to come from the idea that the smell is so good that a monk would jump over a wall to taste it. Many restaurants now leave out shark fin for conservation reasons. Prices vary widely depending on the ingredients and the restaurant.

8. Coffin Bay King oyster: A$100

Coffin Bay King oysters are grown in Coffin Bay in South Australia. They are left in the water for about six years, compared with 18 months for most oysters, and can hold up to 10 times as much meat.

The Fish Site reported that they sold for A$100 each at auction, and they are often described as some of the largest oysters sold for eating. They are usually served raw or lightly cooked.

9. Fourchu lobster: about $20 per pound

Fourchu lobster comes from the cold waters off Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for sweet meat and is available only for a short season each year, which is why it is sometimes marketed as the “Rolls Royce of lobsters”.

Prices of about $20 per pound have been reported in New York, above typical lobster prices.

How we ranked these

We ranked each item by the highest price we could verify for a single unit, such as one fish, one crab, one dish or one kilogram. Auction records and everyday prices are not directly comparable, so treat the order as a guide. Earlier versions of this list included non seafood dishes such as a $1,000 bagel, which we have removed. For more luxury food, see our list of the most expensive dishes in the world.

Sources: Food Manufacturing (AP): bluefin tuna record, CNBC: snow crab record, Bangor Daily News: elver prices, The Fish Site: Coffin Bay King oysters.