What a fish feels
While this is not meant to be a direct attack on anyone who takes
part in fly-fishing, this is just some information I thought
might be good to know for anyone who doesn't already. This is
from The Animals' Agenda, July/August 1991:
The central nervous systems of fish closely resembles ours. In vertibrates, free nerve-endings register pain; fish possess these
nerve-endings in abundance.... When injured, fish writhe, gasp
and show other signs of pain.... Most sound producing fish
"vocalize" when prodded, held or chased...When hooked on a taut
line for at least several minutes, carp spit gas from their swimbladders; after the line is slackened, they sink.
Catch and release fishing inflicts terror, pain and temporary
disability. Frequently, it permanently or fatally disables. Fish
commonly struggle so violently as the hook is being removed that
anglers drop them on the hard bottom of a boat or a rocky bank.
Dropping, netting, handling and other assaults remove a fish's
delicate, transparent surface skin... this outermost layer
protects against infection, waterloggin, and dehydration of
internal tissues, any of which can be fatal.... Fish may also
die of lactic-acid poisoning several hours after overexertion,
hours during which they may be completely paralyzed. The hook
causes injury; severe mouth lacerations can destroy a fish's
ability to eat. Many fish are released after being hooked by the
gills or internal organs, as when they swallow the hook into
their stomach.
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