Document type: podcast of the program La Terre au carré on France Inter
Authors: Mathieu Vidard, Jérôme Boulet, Lucie Sarfaty, Anna Massardier, Joelle Levert, Jean-Philippe Veret. Guests: Sébastien Moro, Amandine Sanvisens
Preview: Until the 2000s, it was believed that fish did not feel pain. This belief long-justified farming and fishing practices that are now increasingly considered unacceptable. "Fish are constantly challenging everything we thought we knew about the cognitive abilities of animals," smiles Sébastien Moro. We have discovered that fish can use tools and are better than chimpanzees at certain mental tasks."
A gradual realization that fish experience suffering
Fish are discussed as if they were lifeless commodities. How often have we read or heard about fish "resources" or cod "stocks"? Economic terminology still dominates all the debates. When it comes to wild fish, an article published in the scientific journal Animal Welfare has estimated, based on catch tonnages provided by the FAO (excluding illegal fishing and bycatch), that 1,100 to 2,000 billion fish are caught each year. That is five to ten times more than there are stars in our galaxy. More than 30 million fish are kept as pets in French households (FACCO-ODOXA Barometer 2024-2025). The less fortunate among them swim around in circles in a bowl-shaped tank — experiencing constant psychological suffering as they do —and all of them are seen as commodities, often as decorative objects. More than 70 studies published in international scientific journals have shown that fish experience and respond to pain, points out researcher Lynne Sneddon, who was the first to prove the existence of nociceptors (pain receptors) in fish. "Before 2002, it was claimed that fish could not feel pain because the presence of nociceptors in their bodies had not been confirmed. But in 2002 and 2003, nociceptors were identified for the first time in rainbow trout, in particularly high numbers on the lips. It was subsequently demonstrated in carp, goldfish, trout, and salmon that potentially painful stimuli generated activity in different areas of their brains from those where responses to non-painful stimuli occur" says Sébastien Moro. (...)
Fish have receptors in their nervous system that respond to pain.
And they do so in a way that is "surprisingly similar" to that of other mammals, reports a study by Lynne Sneddon published in late 2023. "When they are subjected to an event that might cause them pain, fish display undesirable behavioral changes such as the suspension of feeding and reduced activity. These are avoided if an analgesic is administered," said Dr. Sneddon. "When the lips of fish receive a painful stimulus, they rub their mouths against the side of the aquarium in much the same way that we rub our toes when we stub them. If we accept that fish feel pain, there are important implications for how we treat them. Care must be taken when handling fish to avoid damaging their sensitive skin, and they must be caught and killed humanely."
This wealth of evidence has, for the moment, had only a limited effect on how we treat them. In 2021, in a move initiated by the PAZ association, some thirty prominent figures, associations, and academics launched an appeal in Reporterre for a ban on live bait fishing"It is time for French legislation to move towards a more explicit ban on live bait fishing (given that no case has ever been brought against it using the animal cruelty prohibition in the French Penal Code), in line with the latest scientific knowledge and the sensitivity of the public to violence against animals. It should be noted that this type of fishing is not typically found in the countryside: it is much more common among fishermen in the greater Paris area than in rural communities. Recent commitments by the cities of Paris and Grenoble show that the movement is gaining momentum." [...]
