TOTTORI -- A single snow crab fetched a record 2 million yen (about 17,600 dollars) in the year's first auction to be held at a port in Tottori Prefecture, on Wednesday.
The previous record for the prefecture was 1.3 million yen, set in 2016, according to the Tottori fisheries department. Snow crabs are a prized winter treat in Japan.
An official of the prefectural government said the bid for the premium snow crab must be the highest ever in the country. The crab had a shell 14.6 centimeters wide, and weighed 1.28 kilograms. It was among three auctioned that were recognized as Itsukiboshi premium-brand crabs.
A snow crab in Hyogo Prefecture, where there is a major port for landing them, recorded its highest bidding price of nearly 1.09 million yen on Tuesday. In Fukui Prefecture, a top price of 460,000 yen was fetched for a snow crab.
People at the bidding site in Tottori Port, including the brokers, cheered and applauded when local company Kanemasa Hamashita Shoten won with the record-breaking bid. Company President Tetsuji Hamashita, 48, said he sought the crab "because this is the last [snow crab] season of the Heisei era."
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