There are three species of otters in Bangladesh. One of them, the smooth-coated otter, is used for fishing. It turns out that the otters do not actually catch the fish - rather they chase it into the nets. The otters have been trained to drive fish, crabs and prawns toward the nets. The animals are tied to separate ropes which are attached to two sticks. Two men, one at each edge of the boat, hold these sticks and control the otters. Around 300 fishermen in twelve Bangladeshi villages depend on this technique for their livelihood."