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Current situation of cormorant fishing

In order to inherit and carry forward this ancient fishing technology, the management committee of Longhu Mountain Scenic Area in Jiangxi Province has gathered all fishermen who have mastered this fishing technology in Longhu Mountain, and only since 2009 has a large-scale cormorant fishing competition been held every year. While enriching the tourism content of this scenic spot, it is more important to keep this ancient fishing technology in China.

Weitangqiao Port Village has wide rivers and criss-crossing ports and rivers. Many villagers make a living by raising cormorants and subsidize their families by fishing. Cormorants, also known as osprey, are commonly known as "Luo Luo birds", and locals also call them fish-catching birds. Breeding offspring Every winter, the face of the cormorant is red before breeding. After mating for about a week, the face turns yellow and then lays eggs. Cormorant eggs are similar in size and color to duck eggs. A cormorant lays about 15 eggs at a time, with at least 3 or 4 eggs. At this time, the cormorants are ferocious. Fishermen in Qiaogang village hatch cormorants with hens. The incubation time of cormorants is generally 26 days. Cormorants can't be fed for about 2 to 3 hours after birth. The first feeding must be fed to the head of the little loach, because the head of the little loach has bones that can put the throat of the cormorant, which is convenient for the next feeding. A week later, the cormorant's weight increased to 300 grams, and its body began to grow long hair. By 15 days, its food intake soared to 200g/ day and its weight reached 700g g. Cormorants eat about 300g a month, and their weight is 1500g, and the same is true for two months. The second is to put the cormorant in the middle of the river and let it flow downstream; The third is to stay in a deep pool somewhere and let it fish, which is called releasing the pool; The last one is fishing fire, which is working at night. Cormorants follow the fisherman's light to fish flexibly. Fishermen in Qiaogang village generally adopt two ways: drifting and pond release. Wu Yougen and Wu Haisheng drove the cormorant from the shed to the boat at four or five in the morning, and then started a day's work with a fishing boat. They first tied the cormorant's neck with a rope made of woven grass to prevent the cormorant from digesting the caught fish. Then use a bamboo pole to drive the cormorant into the water, and the cormorant jumps deftly in the air. After a while, they dived into the water one by one, looking for fish at the bottom of the lake. After catching the fish, put it in the throat bag first. The fisherman took out the bamboo pole and the cormorant jumped on it. Then the bamboo pole went to the fishing boat. When the cormorant shakes off the water drops on its hair, the fisherman grabs its throat sac with his hand and gently pinches it, and the fish in the sac will turn one by one and squeeze out the fish in the direction of the fin. After several hours of hard work, cormorants gradually piled up in the cabin, and cormorants were tired. The fisherman calls the cormorant back, berths the boat in the habitat, and rewards the hard-working cormorant with the small fish already prepared. At this time, hungry cormorants Wu Yougen and Wu Haisheng have been fishing with cormorants for five generations. They have domesticated cormorants since their great-great grandfather. Grandpa Wu Arong passed it on to his father Wu Changsheng, and his brother Wu Yougen studied cormorant fishing techniques with his father since childhood. From the age of 20, he went fishing alone with cormorants, which lasted for more than 50 years. My younger brother Wu Haisheng studied cormorant fishing technology with his older brother Wu Yougen when he was young. It has been more than 30 years since then. In the early days of liberation, the fishery in Qiaogang Village was very prosperous. More than 30 people domesticated cormorants and fished in the village, and many fishermen fished in Zhangdang. At present, only four people in Qiaogang Village, namely Wu Yougen, Wu Haisheng, Wu Degen and Bao Fugen, are fishing cormorants. Due to the development of industry, the pollution of river water is becoming more and more serious, and there are fewer and fewer fish and shrimp in the river near Qiaogang Village. This is becoming more and more difficult for people such as Wu Yougen and Wu Haisheng who make a living by cormorant fishing. They have to row cormorants for 2 or 3 hours every day to fish in a relatively remote and less polluted river, and earn money from fishing every day. With the growth of age, the cormorant fishing method handed down by Wu Yougen and Wu Haisheng is also facing the dilemma of being lost. Children are unwilling to learn this craft. In a few years, the Wu brothers will all "retire" and the cormorants will be "laid off". After living with cormorants for so many years, the Wu brothers have deep feelings with cormorants. They are worried about the future of cormorants and hope that cormorant fishing can be passed down for a long time.