Cormorant fishing

Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants to fish in rivers. Historically, cormorant fishing has taken place in Japan and China from around 960 AD and recorded from other places throughout the world.

To control the birds, the fishermen tie a snare near the base of the bird's throat. This prevents the birds from swallowing larger fish, which are held in their throat, but the birds can swallow smaller fish. When a cormorant has caught a fish in its throat, the fisherman brings the bird back to the boat and has the bird spit the fish up. Though cormorant fishing once was a successful industry, its primary use today is to serve the tourism industry.

In Guilin, China, cormorant birds are famous for fishing on the shallow Lijiang River. Took this photo 2 weeks ago in quaint village Yangshuo (also the place to watch Zhang Yimou's nightly show - Reflections of LiJiang) along Lijiang River.

Cormorant fishing, called ukai (鵜飼) in Japanese, takes place in 13 cities in Japan. The most famous location is Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, home to Cormorant Fishing on the Nagara River, which has continued uninterrupted for the past 1,300 years.