The shipment of raw oysters from Miyagi prefecture was lifted on the 11th.
The first bid for this season was held in Ishinomaki City, the production area, but the winning bid was 40% lower than last year.
Shipments of oysters for raw consumption will be lifted after autumn, when the seawater temperature drops every year.
In the Watanoha district of Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, where oyster farming is popular, oysters were brought to the facility early in the morning, and about 200 people, including aquaculture companies, performed the shelling work skillfully.
Since the growth of this year was delayed due to the high seawater temperature, the ban was lifted about two weeks later than usual.
Immediately after that, about 11 tons of oysters that had been shelled were brought to the sales office in Ishinomaki City, and the first bid for this season was held.
However, the winning bid at this store averaged 22,828 yen per 10 kilograms, about 16,000 yen, or 42% lower than last year.
The Prefectural Fisheries Cooperative believes that the price was held down because the amount of oysters that could be bid on was higher than last year.
Miyagi Prefecture's oyster production is second only to Hiroshima in Japan, and the Prefectural Fisheries Cooperative expects that this season's shelled oysters for raw consumption will be about 1,600 tons, which is almost the same as the previous season.
Masayoshi Suda, chairman of the Miyagi Prefectural Fisheries Cooperative Oyster Subcommittee, said, "The unit price for last season was 20% to 30% cheaper than usual. I want you to taste the oysters produced. "