As night falls, a group of fishermen set sail off the coast of northern Taiwan, where they prepare to catch sardines with a traditional method: fire.
Once they are at sea, a fisherman lights fire on a stick with acetylene gas — generated by adding water to calcium carbide, which locals call sulfuric stones.
A chaotic scene follows: Hundreds of glittering scaled sardines leap out of the sea like shooting stars, while other fishermen scoop them up in nets.
As the fishing gets underway, the pungent smell of the gas lingers in the air.
For centuries, local fishermen in northern Taiwan have been catching scaled sardines with fire. According to the New Taipei City’s Cultural Affairs Department, the earliest documentation of the technique involving calcium carbide is from around a century ago, during a period when the island was ruled by the Japanese.
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https://www.kake.com/story/44773447/how-taiwans-last-fire-fishing-boat-is-keeping-tradition-alive