Do they feel pain?

[Sebb]

Saw and read this article a while ago. What do you think?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/202 ... c_news_web

[colnick]

The science of it is a bit beyond me but my own observations are enough for me to ensure that I now dispatch fish, squid and crabs as quickly and humanely as possible. I hate seeing any fish gasp their lives out on a pier or a beach or in a bag and it distresses me now when I see a big pelagic fish like a marlin or tuna fight for its life for an hour or more with barely enough strength left to slowly waggle away when finally released. I know I am in a minority but I no longer catch fish just for the fun of catching them. It might not cause them pain but I've no doubt it frightens **** out of them.

[Fish-cador]

Yes, crabs feel pain. I was a crab in my previous life.

When crabs pinch you, use a lighter to heat up the claw. The crab will either let go or dispose of the claw.

Live prawns jump out of the sauce pan if stir fried alive.

[Charles7]

I think fish and crabs etc do feel pain, they just can't voice it. I've thought about this topic more and more often and it has led me to pursue carp fishing more than I used to because of the catch and kill policy. I still practice catch-and-release at the Docklands but there are times where I wonder if my approach is justified and whether I should concentrate my time either catching invasive species to remove them or spend more time chasing fish that are clean for the table.

[sloth]

Probably.

Evidence is certainly building that they do. The counter-argument that they can’t because they lack certain brain regions doesn’t hold up too well (humans that have lost those pain processing regions due to disease have still reported feeling pain).

I guess each of us has to make our own moral decisions - especially where it comes to C&R. I don’t doubt within my lifetime I’ll see the ban of C&R (I believe it’s already happened in Germany.

[Sebb]

They definitely can react and sense danger but I don't think they feel pain like we do.
I don't think their brain is evolved enough to have the connection between something that can hurt them and associates it as pain.

We tend to think "what if it was us", then we would think it's painful to have a sharp object in our mouth and being dragged the opposite direction.
That's because we think as a human and think like a human.
The fish swims away to the opposite direction because I think they sense danger of being pulled, and this is natural reaction.

Just like in that article, we pull our hand away when we touch fire and not going into it. Human then can associates this as fire = burns = pain. It's not the fire, the burning is the pain.
While I think fish knows danger, its bad for them, but that's about it.

[Carpy]

I've read a few articles on this topic, and have found some of the experts are 50/50

[4liters]

It's not much extra effort to kill them humanely, and even if you're not concerned about inflicting pain on them they definitely taste better if you brain spike them and bleed them ASAP.

[Charles7]

They definitely can react and sense danger but I don't think they feel pain like we do.
I don't think their brain is evolved enough to have the connection between something that can hurt them and associates it as pain.

We tend to think "what if it was us", then we would think it's painful to have a sharp object in our mouth and being dragged the opposite direction.
That's because we think as a human and think like a human.
The fish swims away to the opposite direction because I think they sense danger of being pulled, and this is natural reaction.

Just like in that article, we pull our hand away when we touch fire and not going into it. Human then can associates this as fire = burns = pain. It's not the fire, the burning is the pain.
While I think fish knows danger, its bad for them, but that's about it.

The convergent theory of evolution speculates that fish may still be able to feel pain despite lacking some of the same brain structures as humans; they just might feel it differently.

I'm not completely sold on the fact that they feel pain, but if I were presented with compelling supporting evidence, I'd probably reconsider fishing as a hobby. A very thought-provoking thread Sebb, I appreciate it

[Sebb]

It's not much extra effort to kill them humanely, and even if you're not concerned about inflicting pain on them they definitely taste better if you brain spike them and bleed them ASAP.

You're not wrong.
Especially for oily smelly species like aussie salmon.