Indian Fisheries & Aquaculture
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1 ASSESSMENT OF ANIMAL WELFARE & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF INDIAN FISHERIES & AQUACULTURE AN2 Assessment INVESTIGATIVE of Animal Welfare and Environmental Impact of Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture REPORT BY 1 PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS INTRODUCTION them through their watery homes, using cues such as “Fish are more intelligent than they HIDDEN LIVES OF FISH polarised light, sounds, smells and visual landmarks. appear. In many areas, such as memory, Dr Sylvia Earle, one of the world’s leading marine biolo- • Dr Phil Gee, a psychologist from the University of their cognitive powers match or exceed gists, said, “I never eat anyone I know personally. I Plymouth, says that fish can tell what time of day it those of ‘higher’ vertebrates, including wouldn’t deliberately eat a grouper any more than I’d eat is. He trained fish to collect food by pressing a lever at a cocker spaniel. They’re so good-natured, so curious. specific times. He says, “[F]ish have a memory span of non-human primates.” You know, fish are sensitive, they have personalities, at least three months” and “are probably able to adapt they hurt when they’re wounded”. to changes in their circumstances, like any other small Culum Brown, biologist, University of Edinburgh animals and birds”. While many people have never stopped to think about it, fish are smart, interesting animals with their own • Dr Theresa Burt de Perara of Oxford University says, unique personalities – just like the dogs and cats we “We’re now finding that [fish] are very capable of learn- share our homes with. Did you know that fish can learn ing and remembering, and possess a range of cognitive “The marine environment is facing chal- to avoid nets by watching other fish in their group and skills that would surprise many people”. lenges that, if not addressed immediately that they can recognise individual “shoal mates”? Some • A scientific review presented to the Australian Vet- and effectively, will have profound impli- fish gather information by eavesdropping on others, and erinary Association completely disproved the old myth some – such as the South African fish who lays eggs on that goldfish have three-second memories. The vet- cations for sustainable development.” leaves in order to carry them to a safe place – even use erinarians instead found that goldfish have impressive tools. memories and problem-solving abilities. One of the – Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general researchers said that after conducting the review, they World Environment Day, June 2004 Scientists are starting to learn more and wanted “to get the message out to vets to start look- more about our finned friends, and their ing more closely at fish and considering their welfare discoveries are fascinating: like they do other animals”. • A recent issue of the journal Fish and Fisheries cited more than 500 research papers on fish intelligence, proving that fish are smart, that they can use tools and DID YOU KNOW? that they have impressive long-term memories and • Some fish talk to each other with squeaks, squeals and sophisticated social structures. The introductory chap- other low-frequency sounds that humans can only hear ter said that fish are “steeped in social intelligence, with special instruments. pursuing Machiavellian strategies of manipulation, pun- ishment and reconciliation … exhibiting stable cultural • Some fish like to be touched and often gently rub traditions and cooperating to inspect predators and against one another – like a cat weaving in and out of “According to the researchers, close catch food”. a person’s legs. encounters with nets in early life can • Culum Brown, a University of Edinburgh biologist who • Some fish tend well-kept gardens, encouraging the educate the fish to swim away from an has studied the evolution of cognition in fish, says, growth of tasty algae and weeding out the types they “Fish are more intelligent than they appear. In many do not like. approaching trawler. Emma Jones, a areas, such as memory, their cognitive powers match • Like birds, many fish build nests, where they raise their fish behaviouralist at the Marine Labora- or exceed those of ‘higher’ vertebrates, including non- babies. Others collect small rocks off the sea floor to human primates”. Their long-term memories help fish make hiding places in which to rest. tory, said … ‘And if you have one fish that keep track of complex social relationships. Their spatial is a particularly fast learner, the others memories – “equal in all respects to any other verte- will follow’.” brate” – allow them to create cognitive maps that guide The Times (London), October 28, 2004 2 Assessment of Animal Welfare and Environmental Impact of Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture 3 bered and is changed according to different circum- FISH FEEL PAIN stances. Therefore, if fish can perceive pain, then angling ANIMAL WELFARE cannot continue to be considered a non-cruel sport”. While it may seem obvious that fish are able to feel Fish look so unlike humans, it is sometimes hard to imag- pain, some people still think of fish as little more than As you would expect of intelligent and interesting indi- ine that they feel pain in the same way that we do, but swimming vegetables. In fact, when it comes to feeling viduals with memories and the capacity to learn, fish scientists who study pain are in complete agreement pain, fish are equal to dogs, cats and all other animals. Dr can also feel fear and anticipate physical pain. Research- that fish’s pain response is basically identical to that of Donald Broom explains, “The scientific literature is quite ers from universities around the world have published mammals and birds. Fish also lead complex intellectual clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the research showing that some fish use sound to commu- lives that rival those of dogs and some other mammals. pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and nicate distress when nets are dipped into their tanks or The fishing industry is completely foreign to most people, mammals”. when they are otherwise threatened. Researcher William whose experience with fish is generally limited to pur- Tavolga found that fish grunted when they received elec- Neurobiologists have long recognised that fish have chasing their flesh from local markets. These intelligent, tric shocks. In fact, the fish began to grunt as soon as nervous systems that comprehend and respond to pain, complex animals are slaughtered by the billions, and very they saw the electrode, clearly anticipating the torment just as all animals do. Indeed, scientists tell us that fish’s little consideration is given to their suffering. that Tavolga was inflicting on them. brains and nervous systems closely resemble our own. For people who oppose cruelty to animals, the fishing For example, fish (like “higher” vertebrates) have neu- According to Dr Michael Fox, DVM, PhD, “Even though industry’s (as well as recreational fishers’) abuse of fish rotransmitters such as endorphins that relieve suffering fish don’t scream [audibly to humans] when they are should be a key concern. In India, more than 68.69 lakh – of course, the only reason for a nervous system to pro- in pain and anguish, their behavior should be evidence tonnes of fish were killed for food in one year spanning duce painkillers is to relieve an animal’s pain. Claiming enough of their suffering when they are hooked or net- 2006-7. Because the law does not protect them from that fish do not suffer is as intellectually and scientifically ted. They struggle, endeavoring to escape and, by so cruel treatment, fish are impaled, crushed, suffocated unsound as arguing that the Earth is flat. doing, demonstrate they have a will to survive”. or sliced open and gutted, all while they are fully con- Scientists have created a detailed map of pain receptors What happens to fish before they end up on your plate is scious. in fish’s mouths and throughout their bodies. A team nothing short of cruelty to animals. The methods that fishers use to kill fish are shocking and COMMERCIAL FISHING of researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada horrifying. How Fish Get From the High Seas to the recently surveyed the scientific literature on fish pain and Some countries have made improvements: The EU Fish Market intelligence. They concluded that fish feel pain and that includes fish in its cruelty-to-animals statute, and Nor- The way that fish are treated by the commercial fishing “the welfare of fish requires consideration”. Dr Lynne way closed down one fish farm for cruelty to cod, but no industry should make animal lovers everywhere give up Sneddon, a scientist of fish biology in the UK, explains, Indian law offers any protection to fish. fish flesh for good. “Really, it’s kind of a moral question. Is your angling more important than the pain to the fish?” Whether fish are raised on aqua farms, caught in the Today’s commercial fishers use advanced electronic ocean by giant nets or “long-lines” or hooked at the end equipment, satellite communications and massive ships Scientists at Edinburgh University and the Roslin Insti- of a fishing line, there’s no doubt about it: eating fish sup- the size of football fields to track fish. These enormous tute in the UK report that in response to pain, fish also ports cruelty to animals. vessels can stay out at sea for as long as six months at feel emotional stress and engage in “a ‘rocking’ motion a time, storing thousands of tonnes of fish onboard in strikingly similar to the kind of motion seen in stressed Fishing industries can be broken down into three main massive freezer compartments.