Scientific evidence for fish consciousness has accumulated rapidly, with fish now widely recognised as sentient beings capable of suffering and deserving of welfare consideration.
The case for fish welfare is now strongly supported by convergent evidence from neuroanatomy, behaviour, and pharmacology. Fish have the neural architecture for pain processing and demonstrate behavioural and physiological responses to painful stimuli that are consistent with subjective experience. The welfare implications are profound given the scale of fishing and aquaculture: trillions of fish die annually in conditions of significant suffering. The transition from treating fish as insensible to recognising them as sentient has policy implications for fishing methods, aquaculture standards, and research oversight.