Cormorant Fishing: An Ancient Tradition to Mark Each New Summer

The fisherman makes the cormorant cough up the sweetfish.

Traditional Japanese townscapes are still to be found along the Nagara River, where cormorant fishing is practiced.

Cormorant fishing requires close teamwork between man and bird.

Cormorant fisherman Yamashita Tetsuji tends to his birds 365 days a year.

Beak marks are clearly evident on sweetfish caught by cormorants.

The fishermen take the baskets with the cormorants to their boats the nightly outing.

At the end of the fishing each night, all of the boats chase and catch sweetfish together, a routine known as sōgarami.