This year's first auction of the winter delicacy fugu, or blowfish, has been held in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in western Japan.

Saturday's auction started with the ring of a bell shortly before 3:30 a.m. at the Haedomari market, which handles the largest volume of the fish in the country.

Buyers and brokers negotiate deals in a traditional style by grasping each other's fingers inside a cloth sleeve to conceal the bidding.

About 9.5 tons of blowfish, or about 30 percent less than last year, were put up for auction.

The highest bid was 18,000 yen, or about 114 dollars, per kilogram. That was 2,000 yen higher than last year.

The president of a wholesale firm, Goda Yuichiro, said competition has been heating up due to the growing catches of fugu around the country.

He said he hopes to grow the business while trying new things and preserving tradition, and compared it to a snake growing and having to shed its skin. The snake is the year's Oriental zodiac symbol.