Scientific understanding of fish cognition has advanced dramatically. Fish have far more sophisticated mental lives than previously assumed, with implications for how we treat the billions farmed and caught each year.
The default assumption that fish do not suffer is scientifically outdated. Evidence now supports that fish experience nociception and likely have affective pain states. Cognition research reveals learning, memory, decision-making, and in some species possible self-awareness. The implications for aquaculture and wild capture fisheries - where tens of billions of fish die annually under conditions that would be considered unacceptable for mammals - are profound.