Kyotango's first snow crab auction: five males sell for ¥400,000
After days of bad weather kept boats in port, Kyotango's first snow crab auction of the season saw a top bid of 400,000 yen for just five male crabs.
The wait is over. At the Taiza regional wholesale market in Kyotango, Kyoto Prefecture, the first snow crab auction of the season was held on 9 November, and the top price was 400,000 yen for five male crabs.
The Sea of Japan snow crab season officially opened on 6 November. But rough weather off Kyogamisaki, the main fishing ground, kept nine bottom-trawl boats from the prefectural fisheries cooperative in port.
On the 9th, six trawlers finally landed their catch at Taiza. Freshly landed crabs were snapped up one after another, and the harbour came alive. One captain, who worked through the night, said: "We couldn't get out for so long. I wanted to catch more males."
The first-day haul was 2,328 male crabs and 17,716 females.
Three trawlers from Maizuru also went out. Their fishing grounds are farther away than Taiza's, so their first auction is planned for 10 November.
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Kyoto Kyotango snow crab season first auction · 2 updates
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