Through the amazingly skilled use of leashes, each fisherman controls ten to twelve birds. This method of sending cormorants down, and down again, to fetch "sweetfish" is one of the traditional fishing methods of Japan. The handlers, who spend time with the birds everyday, inherit the right to fish. Because they are with the birds on a daily basis, their movements mesh smoothly with the cormorants and they display wonderful artistry when fishing with their trained birds.