Fishes and other Sea Animals Articles from All-Creatures.org

Marine Life Experts and Ocean Advocates Tell Fish Tales for Respect for Fish Day, August 1

From Lia Wilbourn, IDA In Defense of Animals
July 2024

Scientific discoveries of fish sentience have awakened more people to the cruel nature of fishing.

For more, visit FishFeel.org: "The first organization devoted to promoting the recognition of fish as sentient beings deserving of respect and compassion."

Daisy Parrotfish, Shuttertock

Even though many people see fishes as food and fishing as an enjoyable pastime, times are changing. Scientific discoveries of fish sentience have awakened more people to the cruel nature of fishing. In Defense of Animals asked renowned advocates and experts on marine animals to share their knowledge and personal experiences regarding fishes.

Captain Paul Watson is a conservation and anti-whaling legend who founded Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, and was named one of the Top 20 Environmental Heroes of the 20th Century by Time Magazine. He is currently in the custody of Danish police following his arrest in Greenland on July 21, which is believed to be related to a Red Notice issued by Japan for his anti-whaling efforts in Antarctica.

Mary Finelli is the founder of Fish Feel, the first organization devoted to promoting the recognition of fish as sentient beings deserving of respect and compassion.

Jonathan Balcombe is an ethologist and author of What A Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwaer Cousins.

Georgie Purcell is a member of the Victorian Parliament Legislative Council, in the Animal Justice Party of Australia.

Here are some of their answers:

Why did you stop eating fish?

Captain Paul Watson:
When I was eight, I was punished severely for throwing a trout who my father caught back into the river. I remember crying and telling him that the fish were drowning out of the water. As a child, I saw firsthand how destructive the fishing industry was, and the tuna industry’s by killing of dolphins disturbed me immensely. My ships were exclusively vegetarian beginning in 1979 and vegan beginning in 1999.

Mary Finelli:
I realized it was just as cruel to use fishes as food as it is to use any other animal as food. I didn't think of fishes as being as sentient as birds or mammals because I'd bought into our culture's disinformation about fish sentience. I want people to know the truth about fishes so, hopefully, they will do the right thing by respecting fishes instead of abusing them.

Jonathan Balcombe:
Fishes are equivalent to other vertebrate animals. They have faces, they bleed red blood, and they show wariness, fear, hunger, and curiosity. I finally reached a level of self-assurance at age 25 to become vegetarian (and vegan five years later). I would no sooner eat a tiger than a tuna. The sheer violence and cruelty of fishing are more than enough for me to abstain from eating fish.

Georgie Purcell:
My child mind made no distinction between the animals I share my home with, from the animals on farms to the animals in the ocean. To me, they were all the same and equally deserving of life, and one that I was not willing to take for my own fleeting pleasure.


Why do you think we should respect fish, and the oceans, by leaving them alone and not eating them?

Captain Paul Watson:
The destruction of marine ecosystems and the cruelty inherent in the industry. Fishes are engineers for the life support system we call the sea; the interdependence of marine species from phytoplankton to the great whales allow the ocean to produce oxygen and sequester carbon dioxide, maintaining climate stability, providing a complex tapestry of interspecies relationships that allow for a healthy planet. At Cop21, the Climate Change conference in Paris in 2015, I’ve put out a call for a 75-year moratorium on commercial fishing, to allow the Ocean to repair the damage we have inflicted upon it.

Mary Finelli:
It's egregiously cruel: impaling an animal, hauling their body through the water with a hook in their mouth or gut as they desperately fight for their life, suffocating and manhandling them, and killing them. Many people have the notion that catch-and-release fishing is harmless but it's actually torture-and-release, just because a fish is thrown back doesn't mean they survive. They all suffer immensely from the injury and trauma. Fishes are as deserving of respect, fairness, moral consideration, and compassion as any other sentient beings.

Jonathan Balcombe:
Fishes are sentient: they respond to painful and pleasurable stimuli. Fishes are intelligent: they solve problems, they have long-term memories and some recognize themselves in a mirror. Fishes have social lives: they recognize familiar fishes, and cooperate both with members of their own and with other species. Fishes have emotions: they flee danger, they retaliate angrily; and a gentle caress helps them to de-stress. We ought to respect them and their habitats, for their intrinsic value and their ecological importance.

Georgie Purcell:
I understood fishes could feel pain, enjoyment, and wanted to live. I didn’t want to take that away from them. From preserving the ecological integrity of our oceans, for our climate, and so that the next generation can see a fish in the oceans past 2048. Fishes deserve a right to life without it needing to produce any benefit to us. Animals and this planet are not ours for the taking, we share it with all animals.

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PPosted on All-Creatures.org: July 27, 2024
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