Cormorant fishing on China’s River Li is all but dying out.
Before sunrise, fisherman set out with domesticated cormorants, a seabird, on bamboo rafts. These birds prey on fish. But the fishermen tie threads around the necks of the cormorants to prevent them from swallowing the fish they catch.
Once the threads are set, the fishermen begin chanting on their boats to prompt the birds to dive down and retrieve the fish. They control their birds with long poles
Unable to compete with modern fishing, cormorant fishing on the river Li is now largely practiced for tourists.
“Wild China”, a documentary series produced by BBC and CCTV, has an exceptional segment on this 1,300-year old fishing technique, which is also practiced in Japan.
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