Dailies 2016

Cormorant fisherman, predawn

The cormorant fisherman have fished on the Li River near Xinping, Guilin, China for thousands of years. This fisherman, in traditional attire, is re-enacting the ancient practice of lighting his lantern on his bamboo raft in the pre-dawn and preparing to fish with his three birds. Pre-dawn the air pollution and mists are not as obvious as later in the day, so when these conditions prevail, pre-dawn is the best time to photograph the karst mountains.

The cormorants are tied to the boat with a very light line and released to fish in the river. A small line is tied around their throat preventing them from swallowing large, but not small, fish when they dive down to catch fish in the river. They come back to the boat where the large fish are dislodged from their mouths and put into a basket for subsequent sale or use by the fisherman. The birds are well rewarded for their labours by being given some of the fish.

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