Cormorant fishing in Japan is in danger due to a rising threat to its age-old legacy. Climate change has hit the core of this tradition and altered its normal course altogether. By climatic change here, we mean the permanent changes in global temperatures and daily weather patterns that human activities trigger, like the burning of fossil fuels.
Youichiro Adachi is a master cormorant fisherman, and his family has continued this legacy for the past 18 generations. They catch the fish and prepare them for Japan’’s imperial palace for the royal members to savor the delicacies. Climate changes are decreasing the number of fish in the river, thus jeopardizing a fisherman’s lifeline. Adachi claims this scarcity of fish to be a direct impact of environmental changes. But what impact is he talking about?
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The Impact
The weather is becoming increasingly uncertain, and the heavy pours of rain are making it more difficult for the river water to remain still. Recently, flooding has also become rampant; it undermines the requirement of calmness in this river. Now, the bottom of the river (river bed) has bouts of sand fills and smaller rocks that hinder the breeding of fish as they prefer to have larger rocks in their surroundings. The sweetfish, or “ayu” is gradually evolving to be smaller in size, which is not great news.
What is Cormorant Fishing?
Cormorant fishing is an ancient Japanese practice to catch fish. If we look at the history, this practice has its roots in China, Japan, Greece, Macedonia, and a few other countries. Master fishermen reigning on their long wooden boats hold a dozen birds on their leashes and set them free on the river to catch their prey.
It is also known as Ukai and has a high traditional value here. Not to forget that it is also a massive tourist attraction in Japan and takes place throughout the summer season. This method employs trained cormorants to catch fish and bring them to their owners. But how do they carry out this entire process? Let’s see.
- The bird keeper ties a loose net around the cormorant’s neck.
- Then they send the birds out on leashes to bring back sweetfish (aka ayu) from the river.
- When a cormorant catches a fish, the fish gets hooked in the bird’s throat.
- The keeper then pulls back its bird and dislodges its catch by applying pressure on its throat.
- The leash does not allow the birds to swallow larger fishes, but smaller fishes may get into its belly
- Lastly, the bird keepers untie the snares of their cormorants. Now, they can eat the fishes, too.
What role does cormorant fishing play in Japanese culture?
Apart from sightseeing, tourists can also reserve a dinner table for themselves, including their family to enjoy this unique eating experience there. But one can even see the “Ukai” from the riverbank free of cost. You may find a huge bundle of fire that the fishermen carry to lighten up the way forward.
Is Cormorant Fishing cruel?
A lot of animal rights activists debate upon the morality of this practice. Their ethical questions A lot of animal rights activists debate the morality of this practice. Their ethical questions surround the use of the cormorants for personal gains. A few visitors who witnessed this practice found it cruel and against the rights of animals. But the boatmen here say that the cormorants undergo training where they equip the birds with necessary tactics.
But more importantly, the fishermen portray the relationship between the cormorant and its master as similar to an elephant and its mahout. This symbiotic relationship highlights the love and care the fishermen have for the birds, and the birds, too, develop a bond with them over time. In Adachi’s case, he pulls them out of the baskets every day and gently strokes their necks to oversee their health and sustain a mutual bond. Both sides have their legitimate points, and it depends upon an individual how they like to view it.
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