Is Fishing Cruel?

[Kibaa]

I personally don't find fishing to be cruel, but when you think about it, they're just like every other animal. People say it's cruel to fish and kill turtles or manaties or even dolphins. Of course i agree with this, but then, why not fish?. They're just the same as every other animal, why is it cruel to kill turtles, but not cruel to kill fish?. Then of course there's catch and release, but yet still. What good is it to yank a fish out of its habitat with a hook in it's face, then just to release it with a hole on it. There's a theory saying fish can't feel the pain of a hook on their mouth, but i disagree. The main point is, is it just as cruel to kill a fish as it is cruel to kill say a turtle? (Or so society says) Or is it not?

 

[Mecharic]

Personally I think it depends on the type of fishing - using a net or a bait trap is fine, it doesn't harm the fish. Using a hook is cruel, we would put someone in prison for using a hook to catch chickens or cattle, but people never seem to care about fish. -enters fish triad mode-

Most species of fish have an average lifespan of 6-20 years, with goldfish and carp being longer lived than all dogs and most cats (25 years is the average lifespan of a common goldfish, 20 for the fancy ones). Sunfish, catfish, salmon, and other 'game fish' can live 5-20 years without human intervention. Large marine fish can live even longer than that. Lobsters (not technically fish, but meh) are not known to die of old age, with all known deaths having come from external sources. While I do not begrudge people the right to eat fish, I do feel that catching fish for the sake of being able to say "I caught this fish!" and then chucking it back into the pond or river is far more cruel than catching it for food. You are literally jamming a hook in the fishes mouth, sometimes in the gills (which causes a slow and painful death, think punctured lung) and then ripping it back out again, all for your entertainment. Fishing in that manner is a cruel thing to do to fully living creatures with long memories, decent length lives, and a non-threatening disposition.

People rage about cockfights, dog fighting pits, even cat fighting - but fishing for the sport is no different than any of those in that it takes a perfectly happy, healthy animal and hurts it for human entertainment.

As I said, for food is fine, people need to eat, but not for sport.

 

[BulbousDevourer]

If you saw a dog swimming, jammed a hook down it's throat, and hauled it out of the water like people do with fish, people would think you were a horrible beast. But no one seems to care when it's fish. I'm not opposed to something like little kids catching small fish with a net, putting them in a bucket filled with water and watching them swim around for a minute before releasing them. But fishing with hooks just to throw them back in doesn't seem right to me.

 

[Rip Shoul]

Never thought of this. Good topic.

However, I don't think it is cruel. The reason behind this is that there is difference between different kinds of animals. Would you call it cruel to squash a mosquito? If you say no, then I say the same thing about fish. Putting a hook in a dog's mouth and reeling it in is cruel because we relate to dogs more than we do to fish. Cruelty is relative except when it comes to humans because not all animals are equal. I would also argue that creatures like dogs and cows have more conscious qualities than fish and insects. Basically, if it is cruel to fish, it is also cruel to hook a spider.

BTW: Many fish species don't have nerves in their mouths because of their rough diets.

 

[Kibaa]

Never thought of this. Good topic.

However, I don't think it is cruel. The reason behind this is that there is difference between different kinds of animals. Would you call it cruel to squash a mosquito? If you say no, then I say the same thing about fish. Putting a hook in a dog's mouth and reeling it in is cruel because we relate to dogs more than we do to fish. Cruelty is relative except when it comes to humans because not all animals are equal. I would also argue that creatures like dogs and cows have more conscious qualities than fish and insects. Basically, if it is cruel to fish, it is also cruel to hook a spider.

BTW: Many fish species don't have nerves in their mouths because of their rough diets.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but mosquitoes mean to harm you, and some spiders also sting. It wouldn't necesarily be cruel, since it's technically self defense. Of course fishing wouldn't be considered cruel if you're hunting, you need food. But fishing for sport like mecharic said is basically torture for them, and as i said in the main post i don't believe the "no pain in their mouth" theory.

 

[TheBatman1016]

Yeah, but mosquitoes mean to harm you, and some spiders also sting. It wouldn't necesarily be cruel, since it's technically self defense. Of course fishing wouldn't be considered cruel if you're hunting, you need food. But fishing for sport like mecharic said is basically torture for them, and as i said in the main post i don't believe the "no pain in their mouth" theory.

Click to shrink...

The "no pain in the mouth" for some fish is true, and its not a theory. Some Hawaiian fish evolved to lose the nerves in their mouth because they eat sharp coral, and its advantageous for them to not feel agonizing pain whenever they eat. Many other species of fish do have nerves in their mouth, but there are so few of them that instead of giving the fish agony, it just sends a message that there is a threat if the nerves are disrupted. That being said, the only pain they feel (This is assuming the hook is caught in the mouth, and not the gills) is being scared that there is a threat.

 

[budholly1936]

Why are you pansies even worried about the fish? If they die they die... So be it.

 

[illogicalleaf314]

Why are you pansies even worried about the fish? If they die they die... So be it.

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I could say the same about you, please come up with a better argument.

There has been extensive experimentation on the pain thresholds of fish and whether or not they feel pain at all. The results are somewhat inconclusive, however, so it's up to the individual what they believe. In my case, fishing is far too boring to justify the pain it causes the fish, science aside.

 

[Waminer]

Some Interesting bits of Information:
For the Opposition

-Fish fail Self Awareness tests
-Fish have no Neocortex
-Many Fish are known to not have a sense of touch in their mouths
-It is not known if fish experience pain at all
-It is not known that if the experience pain at all, if they have the ability to interpret it as anything but a chemical signal

For the Proponents

-Fish have pain like reactions ]
-In experiments fish have been shown to have responses to strictly internal stimulus i.e. (Wasp Venom) with no threat nearby

 

[Mecharic]

As a fishkeeper who has seen fish in action, I can assure everyone here that they DO feel pain, and that they DO have the concept of fear pretty down pat. They CAN recognize the difference between a threat (I.E. my mother) and a non thread (I. E. myself). I know this because when I walk over to my tank the fish crowd the front, knowing that I bring with me a likelihood of food, but when anyone else goes up to the tank they all hide. Fish are far more intelligent than most people allow for, because allowing for it would make the things many people do to fish (I. E. eating them, fishing, sticking them into tiny little bowls) would be cruel beyond measure.

People who claim fish aren't capable of feeling pain need to stab themselves with a fish-hook. Now imagine that in your lips. Now you f*cking lungs. Tell me how it isn't cruel. Tell me that hurting another living thing for your own entertainment is somehow ok. And when you do, I'll point to dog fighting, cock fighting, and gladiatorial battles and say "oh, so those must be fine too" because there is no difference. The only difference is that we perceive fish to be lesser beings than people, dogs, or chicken.

In conclusion: everyone who thinks fishing isn't cruel is stupid and deserve to have a fish hook stuck in their lip.

 

[Grailen]

As a fishkeeper who has seen fish in action, I can assure everyone here that they DO feel pain, and that they DO have the concept of fear pretty down pat. They CAN recognize the difference between a threat (I.E. my mother) and a non thread (I. E. myself). I know this because when I walk over to my tank the fish crowd the front, knowing that I bring with me a likelihood of food, but when anyone else goes up to the tank they all hide. Fish are far more intelligent than most people allow for, because allowing for it would make the things many people do to fish (I. E. eating them, fishing, sticking them into tiny little bowls) would be cruel beyond measure.

People who claim fish aren't capable of feeling pain need to stab themselves with a fish-hook. Now imagine that in your lips. Now you f*cking lungs. Tell me how it isn't cruel. Tell me that hurting another living thing for your own entertainment is somehow ok. And when you do, I'll point to dog fighting, cock fighting, and gladiatorial battles and say "oh, so those must be fine too" because there is no difference. The only difference is that we perceive fish to be lesser beings than people, dogs, or chicken.

In conclusion: everyone who thinks fishing isn't cruel is stupid and deserve to have a fish hook stuck in their lip.

Click to shrink...

Or instead of being bleeding heart (or should I say gum) about this you could bring valid documented evidence instead of a emotionally biased personal anecdote.

 

[OldManJ98]

I am just going to have to toss this in here... Darwinism. The basis of evolution. We learns to use tools, if the fish wanna swim, they need to evolve to avoid it. If humans didn't eat things because it is cruel, we wouldn't be here.

 

[Aleixandria]

It depends on how the fish is killed. Some people catch the fish and bash it's head with a hammer or kill it immediately with a knife so that it dies quickly and is not left suffering whereas others just leave the fish, still living, on ice dying quite slow and painfully. Equally, when some people are deep sea fishing the sudden change in pressure can cause all sorts of slow, permanent harm and suffering.

Many humans (me included) unintentionally only seem to care with certain things, as always. We preach for animal rights yet limit those to certain animals, those who're endangered or are just cute. People dont notice what their doing is wrong until they think about it. If I saw a bug on the floor (like a cockroach or an ant), even if it was no harm to me, i'd squish it without a second thought, not even thinking about just killing a living creature. If I saw a butterfly on the floor I wouldn't kill it and if I had accidentally i'd probably feel bad about it (Like that one time I accidentally snorted a ladybird as a child but that is another story). Equally fishing is something i'd do without a second thought, I wouldnt stop to think about the pain i'd cause on the animal because it simply wouldn't occur to me. Whereas shooting or hunting i'd consider completely wrong, because it's an issue i'd been aware of.

Cruelty or not Fishing isn't something that's going to change because no-one seems to care about it, people don't acknowledge its wrong when they're doing it. Killing/catching another fish is just another bug squished

 

[FCCarnilord]

Everything is cruel in today terms.
If it was up to specific people, we would all be vegetarians.

 

[BulbousDevourer]

Even if certain fish types don't feel pain in their mouth, some do. And yes, pain might not register for them as much as it does for us, but we don't exactly know that for sure. And I'm pretty sure they'd feel uncomfortable with a hook in their lungs or ripping up their insides. So would pretty much every other living thing. Fish are no different in this regard, and it's something that happens to them pretty commonly.

 

[The Genie]

Well, in my opinion, you shouldn't fish if you're going to just throw back the fish into the water, unless the fish is too small. If it's decent sized, eat it! Don't waste perfectly good fish! Also, it might die anyway from being on the hook if it's all messed up. Fishing isn't cruel unless you make it that way.

 

[Deleted member 8822]

Don't get me wrong, I love my sushi from time to time. Fishing for food is acceptable in my opinion. It's sort of like cows; you have to kill the cow to make the steak. However fishing for the joy of catching a fish (which you most likely won't eat) in my mind is unacceptable. Even if you do put the fish back into the water, that doesn't guarantee that the fish will live, as you putting a metal hook into their body to pull them out of the water. Also, I believe that fishing for whales and dolphins as seen in The Cove is cruel and unethical, as the main fish in foods are common fish such as salmon or tilapia.

However, when fishing for food, there does come a limit. Recent studies have shown that salmon sizes throughout the years have gotten smaller due to overfishing. Fishers continue to harvest fishes earlier and earlier, which doesn't give the time for the salmon to develop into adulthood. Plus, because this salmon is smaller, the fishers will continue to fish more. And this has not only happened with the salmon population; many other fish species have either gone endangered or perpetually small due to fishers wanting to cash in an extra dollar or two.

While I'm not with PETA, I think we can all agree that fishing for common fish is acceptable. However, fishing for rare fish such as dolphins and whales or overfishing is definitely is cruel.

 

[krios41]

this all confused my feelings. i want to say it isn't cruel but at the same time i want to say the oposit now. but this is something i can alway's advice for fish related topics

Spoiler

 

[DisturbedReaper]

Yeah its cruel, but thats life. You think a lion devouring a zebra thinks about this?