Fish can not feel pain.

[tangledline]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/scien...tists.html

"your hurting the fish ...how would you like a hook through the mouth?"

Anglers are now free of the stigma that we hurt fish even when we practice catch and release.

[Giuga10]

Awesome. Now when my friends say I'm cruel for fishing I have this to back me up.

Thanks,
Giuga10

[jedisoccer]

Great read, thanks for posting!

[MichaelAngelo]

I'm still skeptical. One article says one thing and a future article will say another.

Surely fish don't experience pain the exact same way we experience pain. We're different creatures. The same way one can say a fish doesn't experience love like we experience love.

Also, different animals have different sensitivities in different body parts. Our lips happen to be quite well represented in our sensory cortex.

But they must experience something. And just as a hook in the mouth of a human would be relatively quite awful compared to other pains, a hook in the mouth of a fish could also be relatively quite awful for the fish.

I would be interested to see how those "C fibers" are represented throughout a fish. If the fish ONLY has a FEW "C fibers" in their mouth and NO "C fibers" elsewhere, then being hooked would be one of the worst "pains" a fish could ever experience.

Playing devils advocate.


PS: How would you feel if one day you ate a hamburger and suddenly found yourself being dragged down into the water by a chord??? That's not fun! . Perhaps fish do not value their own life in the same sense we do.

[tangledline]

Fish are cold blooded and cold blooded animals can not feel pain.
If pain was felt would you stop or move in the direction your pulled to relieve the pain?
Or like a carp bolt at full speed and strength against the pressure and increase the pain?
i feel like fish are using the fight and or flight instinct against the pressure of the line or that something is not right with the situation....if you scare carp they take off like they are hooked...
if the fish felt pain it would swim to a point in the water where the hook pressure caused less pain....towards you.

[Giuga10]

(01-13-2013 11:02 PM)tangledline Wrote:  If pain was felt would you stop or move in the direction your pulled to relieve the pain?
Or like a carp bolt at full speed and strength against the pressure and increase the pain?

Fish are an insanely less developed species than us, not judging brain power but society. We live in a society where we have seen almost everything and have been taught how to react to those things, fish don't have those opportunities so when put into that situation they use what they have taught themselves, which is to flee from whatever it is and hopefully it will stop.

I do believe fish feel pain (less but still do), because they do flee for a reason and that is to try to escape it. If you've ever hooked into a live fish for bait you notice that they get extremely squirmy when the hook is penetrating the skin so they must feel something.

Giuga10

[MikeH]

I found a series of conflicting articles online.

*This one seems pretty balanced...
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2...733327.htm

[rich_ace_G]

wow. cool info.

[kevintorcan]

Finally, Thank you!
I keep telling my GF, who thinks I'm so cruel

[MuskieBait]

I only see facts...

1) Humans cannot ingest crustaceans (crayfish, lobsters, crabs, shrimp) whole. The sharp spines on their shells easily cut our lips, mouth and gums and we know better than to injure ourselves. Fish like bass, red drum, skates, rays and sharks do not have an issue with that. In fact, those are their favourite food items.

2) Humans cannot ingest fish with spiny fins whole. The sharp fin spines easily cut our lips, mouth and gums and we know better than to injure ourselves. Most fish species have no issues with that. In fact, that's the primary food source.

So if fish feels pain in their mouth area, they would not even be able to feed, since that pain associated with eating will prevent the fish from feeding...just like if you shoot yourself with a gun, you likely will not do it again.

Also, a few times through these years, I've caught the same fish at least twice in the same day. One spring, I caught a brown trout at 4am, and the same brown trout again at 9am. One fall, I caught a rockbass 3 times within 5 casts. Yes, it was either suicidal or just plain stupid. So...if a hook does hurt them and there is a pain response, you would think they would avoid that hazard, right? Certain, some fish will learn (high pressured waterbodies become much more difficult since fish are much more wary). But I think it's more of an avoidance for fear of harassment rather than a pain response...

Again, I'm looking at the fact in front of me. I don't think I need to get into a fish's head to see that.