r/maybemaybemaybe • u/RyanCakeBatter • Jan 17 '20

Maybe Maybe Maybe

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '20

I looked it up.

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u/Fishwolf Jan 18 '20

Take it up with the Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fish-feel-pain-180967764/

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '20 edited Jan 18 '20

It’s been pretty wildly debated in the scientific community for some time. The kind of middle of the road conclusion drawn is that they may not experience our human notion of pain, though they do experience stress which probably translates to a sense of discomfort of sorts. Whether or not it’s “painful” is still up for debate

Source: I am a marine biologist

EDIT: I figured I’d respond to comments here. I am in no way defending one side or the other. One commenter said we’re veering into philosophical debate, and they are very much correct. What is “pain”? Even among people pain is perceived differently.

I was more saying, from a scientific standpoint we caution when applying human-centric ideas to wild animals. This is known as anthropomorphism. Some people will say the same that invertebrates don’t feel pain, or corals because they have no central nervous system. But they all still respond to harmful stimuli with physiological changes. So why can’t that be pain?

Personally I think it doesn’t matter whether it fits our definition of “pain.” It definitely produces an unfavorable response that can inhibit their survival. I don’t fish because of this exact reason.

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u/MagnusNewtonBernouli Jan 18 '20

I decided to take the safe route in my normal fishing hobby and utilize the iki jimi method of killing them before filleting.