Fishes: The Forgotten Sentient Beings

Abstract

Fish – these four letters stand for an enormous number of trillions of animals but still up to the present day we only know little about their inner life. There have been numerous studies showing impressively that they indeed feel pain. Even though they lack a human-like neocortex, apparently other parts of the fish brain seem to be responsible for processing emotions and consciousness. Observations from nature strongly support the remarkable capacity of fishes to live a conscious life: they have an excellent memory and use land marks for orientation, recognize the different individuals in their shoal and remember their hierarchical status in the group. They cooperate between species and even invent interspecific sign language. In conclusion, there is clear evidence that fishes are conscious, sentient beings – and indeed since 2009 they are recognized as such by the EU in article 13 TFEU. However, under welfare aspects of secondary EU legislation, the fishes are either only included on a very basic general level or not considered at all. Especially considering the numbers of fish individuals and the methods used in fisheries and aquaculture, it is high time to overcome this erroneous view and to finally grant them the protection they deserve as ‘sentient beings’ – on the legislative level, but also in fisheries and aquaculture practices, policies, and not least in our daily behaviour.