Restaurant forks out $75,000 for lucky fish

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese restaurant has paid $75,000 for a giant golden-colored tiger fish, a symbol of wealth and good fortune, state media said Tuesday.

The fish, weighing in at 48 kg (105 lb), was caught Sunday off the coast of Zhanjiang in the booming southern province of Guangdong, the China News Service said.

"The restaurant agreed to display the fish... It is about 1.75 meters long and its scales shine like gold," it said.

The restaurant paid 580,000 yuan ($75,050), bargaining down from the market price of 800,000 yuan ($103,500) -- but it was still almost three times the amount someone paid for a giant tiger fish the same weight three years ago.

The fish, named "golden cash tiger fish" in Chinese, would be sold to diners at about 2,000 yuan per kg, the China News Service said, without explaining the prospect of losing money on a dish that cost the restaurant 12,000 yuan per kg.

($1=7.728 Yuan)