Cormorant+Fishing

Cormorant fishing is a very popular and traditional fishing technique in Japan, China and many other areas in the east. It is a technique that many fisherman would use on rivers. Cormorant fishing uses trained cormorants, a large aquatic bird, to fish for them. They do this by tying a string to the cormorant's neck so that they are unable to swallow the bigger fish, and can only swallow a few smaller fish. This is a great way of making sure that the fisherman catch the right size of the fish they need. The cormorants are unable to escape because of the string that is tied to their necks is held by the fisherman on the other end. This is how the fisherman are able to pull the cormorants back to the boat and get the fish out of their mouth. In Japan, cormorant fishing is called Ukai.

This has been a tradition for well over 300 years. There is a whole ceremony involved with Ukai that is held at every start of the fishing season. During the ceremony they make a memorial service for all of the fish that were and will be caught in the river. They also say all of their prayers for the safety of the fisherman and the yakatabune river boats. Once the ceremony is over, all of the cormorants and fisherman start to get prepared for their journey.

The boats that they use have torches placed on the bow of the boat, that attracts the fish during the night. There are three fisherman on the boat that each have a special job to do. The Usho is the one who is the leader of the whole boat and handles the cormorants. The Nakanori is just there to help anybody in need out. The Tomonori is the one who paddles the whole boat and moves everybody around. Everybody who participates in the ceremony has to put on the traditional costume that consists of a skirt made out of straw, a dark cotton kimono, and a black linen cloth is wrapped around their head, so that the sparks from the torches are fended off.

Years ago, cormorant fishing used to be a very widespread and was much more effective way of catching the fish. This was great for the consumers and those who sold the fish, because they could get a decent sized fish, and not one that is too small to even eat. Modernly, this is no where near as an effective way of catching fish as it once was and doesn't meet the economical standards to be able to support a town.