Saury auction held on Sunday in Hokkaido

A rare Sunday auction of saury was held at a port in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

About 3,600 tons of saury was landed at Hanasaki port on Saturday and Sunday. The amount was a record high as fishing boats diverted from ports in northeastern Japan that were damaged by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Fish dealers held 8 auctions on Saturday, but 890 tons of the fish was left without being landed or auctioned due to the shortage of trucks.

One fisherman said he is grateful that he was able to land fish on Sunday, adding that he hopes huge catches will continue.

A local cooperative says it expects fishing boats to continue landing their catch at the port.