Fishing with fire

Fishing with fire

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Under the darkness of the night sky, a small group of Taiwan fishermen set sail off the northeast coast, light a fire on the end of a bamboo stick using chemicals and wait for the fish to come.

Like a magnet, hundreds of sardines leap out of the water towards the bright light waved by one fisherman and his colleagues angle their nets and haul in the catch.

. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

There used to be 300 boats using the traditional fire fishing method each night but now there are only three, according to the local fishermen's association in Jinshan District, north of Taipei.

. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

The 30 or so remaining fishermen have a three-month seasonal window from May to July where they can catch sardines using fire, a practice that dates back hundreds of years, the association says.

. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

The fishermen spend up to six hours a night at sea to catch between three and four tons of sardines, which can earn them, on a really good night, over $4,500. Only bad weather forces them to shore early.

. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

"My daily earnings are unstable, but for a living I need to sail," Jian Kun, a 60-year-old boat owner, said of the fire fishermen's plight.

The government provides a subsidy to the fishermen to encourage them to continue fire fishing and also filed the technique to the Department of Cultural Affairs for registration as a cultural asset in 2014.

. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

And the annual Jinshan Sulphuric Fire Fishing festival was started in 2013 to help promote the practice, while photography tours have been set up to generate interest and boost finances.

. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

The method of lighting the fire has been updated to include the use of calcium carbide, but the boats are old, with little to ease the physical toll on the fishermen who average around 60 years old.

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. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
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. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu
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. New Taipei City, Taiwan. Reuters/Tyrone Siu