The Art of Fishing with Birds

Everyone outside knows to use fishing hooks and nets to catch fish but our ancestors have always used fishing eagles—generation after generation My name is Fan Yuanchuan My older brother is Fan Yuanming We simply use fishing hawks to catch fish My brother has been doing it for over seventy years I've been doing it for about sixty years now We use fish hawks—traditional seventh-generation hawks—we live by the Ximen Nijiang River and in this home there 's one most precious fish the ancient fish Before we go fishing tied a ring around the fish hawk's neck fastened it on then placed it in the water to go catch fish the fish hawk diving into the water to catch fish There's a fish in the water already A minute has passed It's definitely caught by now The fish can be caught If it catches a fish but can't eat it we take it out whenever it catches a fish whether it's a big one or we've caught a carp for it we give it smaller fish to eat First we need to build a bond with it—gradually train it to wear it Fishing and catching fish With my father My brother and others Fishing now My son and his group The fishing work is harder now In the past We used fishing eagles After returning from fishing We would sell the catch Supporting our family used to rely on fishing but now it's no longer needed—just using fishing nets My brother and I have only ever done it a few times catching fish with fishing eagles but it definitely won't be passed down We hope that silver will continue to preserve this tradition