Do Fish Feel Pain?

Interesting article I found @ New Scientist:

CultureLab: Bad news for anglers

 

I'm sure they do. They have a brain and a nervous system. Interesting article and I for one can't find any art in giving people the option to blend a living goldfish. But as an angler, am I going to stop fishing because the hook hurts the fish? Simply..NO. Walleye filets on the grill are far to tasty;D

 

By Tom on April 1, 2010 8:12 PM
Ridiculous! All fishermen know that fish dont feel pain and relish the primitive fight for survival.
I tested the theory by putting a hook through a fishermans cheek and dragging him up and down the riverbank until he was exhausted. On removing the hook he got up and ran some more - he was obviously enjoying it and wanted some more!
*
hilarious lol

 

Yeah, I really don't think it's going to dissuade anyone from fishing or eating fish...

But I remember growing up hearing that repeated over and over that "fish don't feel pain" so it's OK. I always thought, of course they feel pain, when I remove the hook, why do they twitch so much? Never stopped me from reeling in fish... Still, I think it's interesting to shed light on it, especially when sometimes folks treat fish as expendable but would not see a furry or feathery animal this way.

 

I think they do "feel" pain, but they can't change that sensation into an emotion. They simply react to it and try to get away from it. I don't think they will sit there afterwards and think "Man..that really hurt!" Which is why I don't feel bad setting the hook as hard as I can.
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Exactly! They don't have a sophisticated limbic system and lack a hippocampus to associate the pain with some type of emotion. In fact, they don't have any emotions...

 

could not have said it better myself.....simply perfect.

...I have heard ...in a post on 3reef a few years ago, that there are different ways of putting a fish "down" humanly.... I would think that FAST is best for a fish....jmo...
BUT...believe it, some folks have differing views...LOL :-/
I think the best one (not being sarcastic) was in a bag of water in the freezer..slows down the metabolism until...ice cube...basically slows down to death...deep sleep...painless? makes sense to me....But, I'm partial to the GD....but thats just me.
LG

 

The hooks don't hurt because most fish don't have nerves capable of sensing pain in their mouths. most carniverous fish eat fish with protective spines and have evolved to not sense pain in their mouths IE. hooks. Of course not every fish out htere but most are this way.

And on the non politicaly correct side, not that it really matters. Do you think the cows don't feel the knocker before they get turned into steaks? Not gonna stop me from enjoying a hamburger.

 

I read a study about this where they analyzed the neurochemical composition after death. they tried many ways; formalin, freezer, severing head, in freshwater, and some other type of chemical. Surprisingly, the freezer way released a lot of cortisol (stress hormone) compared to the other ways. The severing way had zero cortisol.

 

For aquarium fish that I've had to euth I drop in a glass full of rubbing alcohol..quick and they go out drunk.;D LOL that's bad