CORMORANT FISHING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22738, 26 November 1935, Page 21

CORMORANT FISHING

The cormorant fishing season in Japan has closed. In this unique practice each of the fishing boats, which are usually 12 in number, carries a crew consisting of a chief fisherman, an assistant and two boatmen. They are provided with a large torch at each bow, and the boats are rowed down the river one by one. The chief fisherman, who wears a loose waist covering made of dried grass, manages 12 cormorants in the bow, while the assistant manages four in the middle. A string is tied to each bird, and the fisherman takes hold of the end in his left hand. As soon as he sees the fish gathering round the torch he lets loose the string, and the cormorants quickly swim after the fish and dive into the water to catch them. When a cormorant has swallowed a certain number of fish, the fisherman hauls in the bird and makes it disgorge them bv pressing its neck and throat. Immediately the fisherman again lets the bird go after the fish. When a fish is caught, whether by the head or tail, the cormorant swallows it head first. If the cormorant catches a large lish .by the tail, the bird throws it up into the air and catches it with its bill. Sometimes the boats surround a place where the stream is not so rapid, and while fishing the fishermen, beat on the sides of the boats or make noise by shouting to one another in order to encourage the cormorants. In the meantime the birds, excited by the fishermen, pursue the fish so fiercely that some of the fish, panic-stricken, jump into the boat or on to the sand.