The first auction to usher in the puffer fish season was held in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture on the 25th.
At the Nanfudomari Market in Shimonoseki City, where the amount of natural tiger puffer fish handled is Japan Japan the first auction is held at this time every year to coincide with the lifting of the ban on puffer fish fishing in the sea.
At the market, natural and cultured tiger puffer fish from the Japan Sea off the coast of Hagi City and the Bungo Channel were auctioned.
At 3:20 a.m., when the bell rang to announce the start of the auction, the middlemen held the fingers of the auctioneers in the tubular bags to determine the price, and the puffer fish were auctioned off one after another with a dashing shout.
This year, the seawater temperature at the fishing grounds was still high, and the amount of fish landed was only about one-third of the usual amount, and the maximum price per kilogram was 3,1 yen, which was 1,2 yen higher than last year.
Yuichiro Goda, president of Shimonoseki Karato Fish Market, said, "I think that the impact of Corona will decrease and demand for inbound tourism and eating out will increase, so we would like to respond firmly as a fish market."