Do Fish Feel Pain? 2024
AQUA VELVA reply :
Ran across this in my file, probably have had it for a few years. Came from Bob Montgomery written for BASS magazine.'' We see ''anthropomorphism'' occur innocently, when dog and cat owners dress their pets in human attire or turn the TV on for them when they must leave them home alone. We see it more sinisterly in the tactics of animal rights activists, who want you to believe that fish feel pain and fear when they are hooked. The fact is, that's just not so, according to Dr. James Rose at the University of Wyoming. Concerned that fishing is being challenged on grounds of humaneness, Rose reviewed the literature, studied the biology, and produced ''The Neurobehavior Nature of Fishes and the Question of Awareness and Pain''. He concludes that fish are incapable of feeling pain and fear because their brains are so much different than those of humans. In fact, they operate from the brain stem, while we function from a much more developed forebrain. ''The fundamental neural requirements for pain and suffering are now known,'' he says.''Fishes lack the most important of these required neural structures, and they have no alternative neural systems for producing the pain experience. Therefore, the reactions of fishes to noxious stimuli are without conscious awareness of pain. The evidence supporting this conclusion is extensive and diverse, thus permitting a high degree of confidence in its correctness.''
RF813 reply :
When I pull them out of the water, I've never heard one complain, so i'd guess no.
ColdSVT reply :
Since I ram hooks through thier faces while ripping them from thier home for fun I really dont care lol
A-Jay reply :
Sounds good to me.
That's way above my pay grade.
I will say that more than one of them have Broken my heart . . . .
btw - Hey there Ogemaw County ~ Otsego County right here
A-Jay
tomustang reply :
I don't listen to the peta crowd so it doesn't bother me on what they assume.
daiwaguy reply :
Berkley actually hired a scientist to do this to I posted a link about it in a thread about "dropping fish" back in to the water from a few weeks back. The scientist had determined the same things.
Wayne P. reply :
If you call them a hog, sow, or a pig, it hurts their little feelings.
That does more harm than getting stuck with a hook.
FlipnLimits reply :
I wouldn't think to hurt a Bass or mistreat them in any way. Actually, I sometimes give thanks to Mr. Bass for the pleasure he has given into my life and continues to do so. In thanks, I treat him well, give him rides in an expensive boat as payment for biting my hook 
and promise to release him with a bunch of his kin after borrowing just 8 hours of his time.
Pain has nothing to do with a fishes survival instinct so why would fish be hardwired for it? Fish are much lower on the evolutionary scale, compare to humans, and function within a basic life cycle. Eat, hide, and reproduce. Fish are not subjective thinkers knowing right from wrong and cannot make decisions based on feelings or forethought of pain. They aren't too bright but they are perfect for their world, unlike their human counterparts. 
FL
mjseverson24 reply :
I would say fish definitely can feel pain, but in a very different way than humans interpret it. I think fish probably have very few nerve endings in their mouths as they eat crawfish and other baitfish with spikes and claws that would definitely cause a human pain. Now you take something sharp and poke the fish's eye or lateral line, and I would say you will definitely see a reaction to the sensation it is experiencing (pain). As far as fear, I don't think fish experience fear, but they do react to their environment, and they try to avoid interacting with humans as much as possible, especially larger older fish (not sunfish and minnows)... by avoiding humans does that not show fear? or do they just not like us...
Mitch
Preytorien reply :
Like severson said, the fact they eat spiny, pokey, clawed creatures would make me think their mouths probably don't have any/many nerve endings. I don't know though, I've never asked.
FlipnLimits reply :
Mitch
I tend to think they avoid humans because we are larger than them, just like Pike and Muskie. It's a hardwired instinct to hide, not because we are human but because we are large in size. Lets say a bass from FL, that has never seen a Muskie, would he bolt if it saw a Muskie? I think so. Sunfish and minnows are skiddish too, they're just not as skiddish usually. Bass are seen in the shallows and swim by the boat, maybe not as often since there are fewer.
Agreed, there is a reaction by fish when we touch them or if they're stuck with a hook, can't say it's pain though. Of course, you may fully well be correct seeing as nobody will ever know. Gladly, I defer if wrong but still haven't seen anything conclusively supporting the belief of fish feeling pain. It's logical to believe they feel pain, such as my dog when his paw is accidentally stepped on, but my dog is higher up on the evolutionary scale. Just my thoughts on it, I'm no scientist, lol. I just can't wait til Spring and enjoying some conversation with other fishermen. If they can feel pain, then I'm glad I've always been as gentle as I can with them.
FL
Marty reply :
Dr. Keith Jones, author of Knowing Bass, says we don't know definitively whether fish feel pain or not, but we're sure that they can't feel it in the way that we do.
Quote
.. by avoiding humans does that not show fear? or do they just not like us...
Fish and other animals act as if they show fear, but I don't know if fear is the right word. Survival is the strongest instinct and they instinctively avoid other critters that are perceived to be a threat. Consider the baby sparrow in the back yard along with three small furry critters: a squirrel, a rabbit and a cat. That bird knows instinctively it can mingle with the rabbit and squirrel but has to get away from the cat. I don't know if fear is the appropriate word, but animals know which others to avoid.
Glenn reply :
This is going to go pages and pages, just like this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/74381-fish-feel-pain/
So, you might want to read through it first.
The Rooster reply :
I'm not sure how much pain a fish can feel and in what way. I am sure they don't feel much, if any, in their mouths. Anyone having ever caught a few and observed how they act can tell this. I've also seen fish hit lures more than once. I've caught and released the same bass twice within minutes, and also witnessed other people do the same thing as well. If a fish was feeling soreness from hooks, one hookup and they'd be wary of it a second time, especially within a few minutes of the first time.
Not only this but look how they spawn. Fanning rocky, sandy bottoms until their fins bleed. Anyone ever caught one with its tail fin tore up from this? I have, and I know you all have too.
So my two cents is......well, basically, fish are stupid. They don't know much, and don't feel much. People worrying about hurting a fish with a hook are wasting theirs and my time by telling me about it. I've blinded more than a few with a hook. Tore up some lips and let them go swimming away bleeding. The same fish will keep right in eating, blind or not. That's obvious too. If it can't, and it dies, it will become food for something else. That's how nature works. It doesn't need help from PETA (should be PITA).
AQUA VELVA reply :
Hey, Otsego, used to go on two week fishing trips up there with a buddy. We stayed in Gaylord for a week and then went to Atlanta and spent a week there.Some of the best fishing I ever had.
ww2farmer reply :
I don't know about fish, but a slight pain developed between my ears after I opened this thread.
WIGuide reply :
On 3/1/2014 at 8:30 AM, mjseverson24 said:I would say fish definitely can feel pain, but in a very different way than humans interpret it. I think fish probably have very few nerve endings in their mouths as they eat crawfish and other baitfish with spikes and claws that would definitely cause a human pain. Now you take something sharp and poke the fish's eye or lateral line, and I would say you will definitely see a reaction to the sensation it is experiencing (pain). As far as fear, I don't think fish experience fear, but they do react to their environment, and they try to avoid interacting with humans as much as possible, especially larger older fish (not sunfish and minnows)... by avoiding humans does that not show fear? or do they just not like us...
Mitch
Check this out. It doesn't look like they really avoid humans http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/132062-fun-video-starring-bass/
Fish Murderer 71 reply :
No real concern from me about their feelings, hook em, toss em back and hope to hook its big mamma!
SirSnookalot reply :
Anyone ever hear a fish make a noise? Pretty common here with a number of species. I stepped on a fish a little too hard, good sized tooth critter that will go after your leg in heartbeat, and the fish squealed. I do think they feel pain or some kind of discomfort. I'm not concerned about.
Catt reply :
Hook does hurt as much as the fillet knife! 
Sam reply :
Fish do not have a "large cerebral neocortex" in their brains so to be direct with a reply..."no, fish do not feel pain like humans."
Fish feel pressure.
All scientific research that I have read state that fish do not feel pain as us humans and they only feel pressure.
Fish have "free nerve endings" like humans and can detect injurious stimuli like toxic chemicals and the reflexive startle behavior to sudden loud noises.
But so far no scientist has stated that fish feel pain and can back it up with research.
WRB reply :
The BM article started by people comparing pets and fish having human characteristics as being a false concept. If you take nothing else from this thread remember that fact. Fish don't see, hear, smell, taste or feel pain or the concept of fear like higher primates or humans.
I know from experience that fish react differently depending on where they are hooked, more than likely do to nerve reaction. When hooked in the eye socket bass fight harder, gut hooked they fight less, hooked into the brain they don't fight.
Fish are fish and should be treated like a renewable resource and source of food, handled with respect of a living animal when catching and releasing.
Tom
Catt reply :
What I find interesting is some of y'all that do not beleive bass feel pain because their brain is incapable beleive they are capable of learning.
FlipnLimits reply :
Well they do spend lots of time in schools! 
FL
lmoore reply :
On 3/2/2014 at 8:14 AM, Catt said:What I find interesting is some of y'all that do not beleive bass feel pain because their brain is incapable beleive they are capable of learning.
2 very different things and unrelated. Also, fish (and many other less developed animals) don't "learn" so much as just associate. They will instinctively avoid situations which have previously caused stress. The ability to "remember" those situations also varies between fish species.
The Rooster reply :
They're capable of some type of learning. I know a guy who has a pond where he feeds the fish and they hardly ever hit a bait but they'll show up along the same shoreline each evening as he walks the edge and just follow him while he flings dog food and other things in the water. They eat it immediately. I watched him throw a bunch of bluegills in once and they devoured those as soon as they were in the water. Same at the BPS tank when the guy throws shad in. They know. That indicates clear learning abilities.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Ever hook a fish and fight it to the boat and then give it slack line? I do that often with little fish to see if they'll throw the hook so I don't have to unhook them. A lot of the time they'll stop fighting and just swim away slowly like nothing happened. I've always believed they felt more the pressure of being pulled away from where they want to be. So take away that pressure and their flight instinct goes away and they go about being a fish that's worried about nothing but eating and not being eaten again.
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