One study in New York showed that a large population of cormorants was devastating the game fish population, including the smallmouth bass fishery on Lake Ontario. The study found that the cormorants were consuming 1.3 million bass per year. Most of this 1.3 million were smallmouth that were three to five years old. Centuries ago the Chinese figured out that they could use cormorants for fishing. They would capture a cormorant, tie a long string around one of its legs and place a collar around the bird's throat. They would then go out in a boat, hold the string while the bird dove down and swallowed a fish. They would then pull the bird back to the boat and squeeze the neck above the collar and plop the fish into