Using natural sulphur that’s set aflame and placed at the end of bamboo sticks, a small group of fishermen in Taiwan keep an ancient tradition alive. One crewman waves the flaming bamboo over the water while others use handheld nets to scoop up thousands of sardines that are drawn to the light. The fishermen spend hours on the water every night during the summer, sometimes catching more than three tons of sardines.
But “sulfuric fire fishing,” which dates back centuries, is dying out fast because of modern technology. Only three boats in Taiwan are engaged in the practice today, compared to hundreds a few decades ago. (Burning sulphur has been linked to issues like acid rain, but experts say the fishing method uses such minimal amounts of sulphur that it has no significant effect on the environment.) The remaining fisherman face an uncertain future. “My daily earnings are unstable, but for a living I need to sail,” Jian Kun, a 60-year-old boat owner, told Reuters. The method of fishing is disappearing so quickly that in 2014 Taiwan’s Department of Cultural Affairs labeled sulfuric fire fishing a “protected cultural asset” so that it can be preserved for future generations.