Osaka, visited Gifu, enjoyed seeing cormorant fishing and eating ayu. Thus began to offer ayu sushi to the Shogun, and masters of cormorant fishing were allowed to move freely over the river. Cormorant fishing currently takes place in 13 cities in Japan. The most famous location is Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, home to cormorant fishing on the Nagara River, which has continued uninterrupted for the past 1,300 years. Cormorant fishing in Seki also takes place on the Nagara River, but it is called 'Oze cormorant fishing' ( ). Only the cormorant fishing masters in Gifu and Seki are employed by the emperor and called Imperial Fishermen of the Imperial Household Agency. Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture (Fuefuki River) Gifu, Gifu Prefecture (Nagara River) Seki, Gifu Prefecture (Nagara River) Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture (Kiso River) Uji, Kyoto Prefecture (Uji River) Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture (Ōi River) Arida, Wakayama Prefecture (Arida River) Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture (Basen River) Masuda, Shimane Prefecture (Takatsu River) Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture (Nishiki River) Ōzu, Ehime Prefecture (Hiji River) Hita, Ōita Prefecture (Mikuma River) Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture (Chikugo River) Europe Cormorant fishing is an old tradition in Greece and North Macedonia, especially on Doiran Lake which lies in the border of the two countries, and it is still practiced today by some traditional fishermen. In Western Europe, cormorant fishing took place from the 16th to 17th centuries, primarily in England and France. In the 19th century, Francis Henry Salvin reintroduced the practice in England by putting on displays and bringing his birds to fisheries exhibitions. This "second phase" of English cormorant fishing lasted until about 1890. Peru There are claims of cormorant fishing in Peru during the 5th century, 100 years earlier than Japan. See also Otter fishing Cormorant fishing on the Nagara River Ukai (play) References Fishing techniques and methods Cormorants Working birds Fishing in Asia