In Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, a 1.2 kg snow crab sold for ¥10mil (RM310,753) at auction was the most expensive item ever sold.On the first auction day of the snow crab season this year, the sale took place at the Hamasaka fishing port in Shinonsen town. The buyer was Ryosuke Uemura, a 47-year-old Kobe restaurant owner of Ryouriya Uemura.
The previous record set by the Hyogo Prefectural Government’s Tajima Fisheries Office in the town of Kami’s Shibayama harbour in 2022 was shattered by Monday’s sale, according to Japanese news outlet The Mainichi. The record was approximately ¥3.15 million.
“I was determined to win from the start, no matter what. I want the high quality crabs from the Hamasaka fishing port to be more widely known. “I want to enjoy snow crab with my restaurant’s customers,” Uemura stated, according to The Mainichi.
The matsuba-gani, or “pine needle crab,” set a record on Monday. The name is thought to refer to the crab’s long, thin limbs.
Male snow crabs found off the coast of Sanin, which stretches along the southwest coast of Honshu, the main island of Japan, are called matsuba-gani.
The Japan Fisheries Cooperatives’ Hamasaka branch refers to a matsuba-gani that meets certain requirements, like weighing at least 1.2 kg, as Hamasaka-gani kiraboshi, which translates to “glittering stars” in English.
