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 Keepers
of the flame: Taiwan keeps the art of fire fishing alive
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[June 27, 2016]
By Tyrone Siu
TAIPEI (Reuters) - 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.
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 Like a magnet, hundreds of sardines leap out of the water
toward the bright light waved by one fisherman and his
colleagues angle their nets and haul in the catch.
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.
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.
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.
"My daily earnings are unstable, but for a living I need to
sail," Jian Kun, a 60-year-old boat owner, tells Reuters of the
fire fishermen's plight.
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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.
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.
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.
(Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore. Editing by Nick Macfie)
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