Season's first yellowtail auction

Season's first yellowtail auction

The season's first auction of winter yellowtails is held at a fish market in Kanazawa in the central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa on Dec. 2, 2025. A fish weighing 14.5 kilogram was auctioned off for a record-tying 4 million yen ($25,700).

Yellowtails at central Japan aquarium

Yellowtails at central Japan aquarium

Photo taken on July 30, 2025, shows yellowtails at Uozu Aquarium in Uozu in the central Japan prefecture of Toyama.

Yellowtails at central Japan aquarium

Yellowtails at central Japan aquarium

Photo taken on July 30, 2025, shows yellowtails at Uozu Aquarium in Uozu in the central Japan prefecture of Toyama.

Season's first yellowtail auction

Season's first yellowtail auction

The season's first auction of winter yellowtails is held at a wholesale market in Kanazawa in the central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa on Dec. 2, 2024.

Humble sardines now more expensive than sea breams

Humble sardines now more expensive than sea breams

TOKYO, Japan - The stock of Japanese sardines, the fish long associated with the popular Japanese palate, appears to be undergoing an inexplicable change in recent years. A single sardine now fetches nearly 500 yen at times, exceeding upmarket fish like farmed yellowtails and sea breams.

Fishermen's association seeking new market for survival

Fishermen's association seeking new market for survival

HIGASHI, Japan - Fishermen are busy shipping farmed yellowtails to the United States and the European Union countries at the port of Higashi on the island of Nagashima in Kagoshima Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Humble sardines now more expensive than sea breams

Humble sardines now more expensive than sea breams

TOKYO, Japan - The stock of Japanese sardines, the fish long associated with the popular Japanese palate, appears to be undergoing an inexplicable change in recent years. A single sardine now fetches nearly 500 yen at times, exceeding upmarket fish like farmed yellowtails and sea breams. (Kyodo)