The birds have their necks tied to keep them from swallowing the fish. After catching a certain number of fish, the string around their necks is loosened, and the bird gets to eat. This keeps the cormorants working fishing.
I can’t imagine that this is the most efficient way to fish– or the most cost effective. Cormorants require care and traininng that nets and lines simply don’t need.
But it is a Chinese tradition, which dates back to roughly 1,000 years ago.
I’ve seen this whole documentary. It’s about Zong Man’s attempt to breed and train another cormorant for his team. (One of the things I do recall about that documentary is that two of his birds were in a homosexual pair, which really isn’t that unusual.)
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Wow.