The scientific debate about fish pain has evolved substantially, and the current consensus supports the view that fish likely experience pain in a functionally meaningful way.
The absence of mammalian brain structures in fish was historically used to deny fish sentience, but this reasoning fails to account for functional equivalents in fish neurology. The growing evidence base supports precautionary inclusion of fish in animal welfare consideration. This has practical implications for billions of fish caught and farmed annually with essentially no welfare oversight in current practice.