page_title: Fishing industry in China
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fishing industry in China / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Cormorant fishing on Eir lake near Dali, Yunan, China Français&#160;: Pêche au fr:cormoran sur le lac Eir près de Dali, fr:Yunnann, Chine.
context_page_description: China has one-fifth of the world's population and accounts for one-third of the world's reported fish production as well as two-thirds of the world's reported aquaculture production.
  Aquaculture, the farming of fish in ponds, lakes and tanks, accounts for two-thirds of China's reported output. China's 2005 reported harvest was 32.4 million tonnes, more than 10 times that of the second-ranked nation, India, which reported 2.8 million tonnes.
  China's 2005 reported catch of wild fish, caught in rivers, lakes, and the sea, was 17.1 million tonnes, far ahead of the second-ranked nation, the United States, which reported 4.9 million tonnes. The Chinese commercial fishing fleet is responsible for more Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing fishing than that of any other nation.
  The principal aquaculture-producing regions are close to urban markets in middle and lower Yangtze valley and the Zhu Jiang delta.
context_section_description: Historically, cormorant fishing has been a significant fishing technique in China. To control the birds, the fishermen tie a snare near the base of the bird's throat. This prevents the birds from swallowing larger fish, which are held in their throat. When a cormorant has caught a fish, the fisherman brings the bird back to the boat and has the bird spit the fish out. Chinese fishermen often employ great cormorants. Though cormorant fishing used to be a successful fishing industry, its primary use today is to serve the tourism industry. In Guilin, Guangxi Province, cormorant birds are famous for fishing on the shallow Lijiang River.
caption: A Chinese fisherman with his cormorant on Erhai Lake near Dali, Yunnan
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