FITS THE BILL
STUNNING photographs of a Chinese fisherman using a cormorant to catch fish in a river have been revealed.
The birds can be seen perching on a bamboo raft before swooping into the calm water to grasp hold of prey.
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Cormorants have thick, hooked bills perfect for firmly seizing fish and help fishermen catch bigger finds than their nets usually can on their own.
These images showing the ancient art of cormorant fishing were captured by photographer Julia Wimmerlin at Li River in Guilin, China.
She placed her camera in a waterproof case and dip it slightly in the water to capture a stunning shot of a cormorant plunging into the river as the fisherman looks on.
The angler can also be seen flinging a large net into the air when he wants to catch smaller fish closer to the surface.
Mrs Wimmerlin, 42, from Kiev, Ukraine, said: "Seeing this whole process and the beautiful setting where it takes place just takes your breath away.
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"In fact, it was so beautiful it felt surreal."
Cormorant fishing - an ancient practice dating back to 960 AD - is now rarely used but the dying art is often brought back to life to entertain tourists.
Fishermen must have a close bond with the cormorants and when the birds grasp hold of a fish, the fishermen pull them back to the boat so it can release the prey.
Mrs Wimmerlin, who now lives in Hong Kong after moving to China this year, added: "Though cormorant fishing once was a successful industry, its primary use today is to serve the tourism industry.
"The skills of training the cormorants are passed from generation to generation but in modern China nobody uses cormorants anymore so the skills will be lost with the last remaining fishermen.
"Most fisherman who still know how to use the birds are in their 80s and the youngest are in their 60s."
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