nighttime cormorant fishing | madspedersen.com

Nighttime Cormorant Fishing
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One of the stranger experiences we had was a nighttime cormorant fishing expedition. After sailing for almost an hour in complete and utter darkness, the fisherman turns on the lamp at the front of his boat - this will attract the fish. He then releases six large birds (cormorants) from their cages on top of the boat. The birds are excellent swimmers and we watch from the boat as they dive to catch the fish. The birds have a piece of string tied around their neck so they can't swallow their catch. The fisherman quickly captures the bird and makes it spit out the fish into the a basket on the deck. He then release the bird and captures the next. Cormorant fishing like this has been going on for centuries, but of course back in the days the fishermen were using only a couple of birds and a bamboo raft.

Posted Friday 19 December 2003 | 4528 views

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