central Japan hails season's first spiny lobster catch

The season's first catch of spiny lobsters has been offloaded at a port in Japan's central prefecture of Mie. On Friday, five ships offloaded their catch of about 270 kilograms, 80 kilograms more than last year's first haul, but less than usual.  

At auction, the season's first catch of the shellfish fetched a high price, selling at as high as about 50 dollars per kilogram. The season for spiny lobster fishing started from 1st October to 30th April of the following year in Mie prefecture, except for some remote islands.