Fishes, Sentience, And The Law
A Fishes Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Lukas Jasiunas, Faunalytics.org
December 2019

The reason for why fish welfare is lagging behind so much is that, for centuries, it was assumed that fishes simply could not feel pain or suffer. Hence laws, regulations, and morality excluded fishes from animal welfare standards.

Photo by Milos Prelevic on Unsplash

Despite recent increases in the interest towards bird and mammal protection, less attention is paid to the suffering experienced by fishes in the fishing industry. Following a logical acceptance of the fact that inflicting needless suffering is wrong, and the follow-up moral obligation not to do so, researchers from Pace University studied the current situation faced by fishes caught commercially. After all, without a morally relevant difference between aquatic and land animals, the same moral obligations should apply to fishes and other aquatic animals, too.

International efforts to preserve sustainable populations of marine species are seemingly failing, as shark populations are declining rapidly, while tuna and mackerel populations have plummeted during the last 40 years. The research group informs that these rapid decreases are a result of “overfishing,” bycatch, and the effects climate change has on marine ecosystems. Similarly, at the national level, while the U.S. has attempted to incorporate conservation considerations into fisheries management practices, nothing has been done towards protecting wild-caught fishes from inhumane treatment. Since current fishing practices do not prioritize ‘humane’ practices, increases in mortality correlate to an increase in fish suffering, too. Aquatic biodiversity studies show that if business carries on as usual, the fishes used for food could be eradicated as soon as 2048.

The reason for why fish welfare is lagging behind so much is that, for centuries, it was assumed that fishes simply could not feel pain or suffer. Hence laws, regulations, and morality excluded fishes from animal welfare standards.

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