The scientific evidence that fish experience pain has strengthened considerably over the past two decades, with important implications for fisheries management, aquaculture, and angling practices.
If fish experience pain and distress — which the weight of evidence increasingly supports — then the scale of fish suffering in commercial fisheries, aquaculture, and recreational angling is among the largest sources of animal suffering on the planet. Billions of fish die annually in ways that would cause prolonged suffering in mammals: crushing in nets, suffocation on decks, live evisceration, and capture stress. The welfare implications of updated fish sentience science are enormous and have begun to reshape regulatory frameworks in several jurisdictions. Applying the precautionary principle to fish welfare — treating them as sentient in the absence of certainty rather than requiring proof before extending protection — is the appropriate response to current scientific uncertainty.