A Response to "Hooked on a Myth"

   In Victoria Braithwaite’s editorial “Hooked on a Myth” she argues that people need empathize with fish, because although it may not be obvious, fish are indeed affected by pain. While I do agree that most people do not put time and effort into trying to understand the emotions of fish, I do not believe that we should have to because there are more important issues to worry about in the world.

   In the article Braithwaite mentions in the first paragraph that fish are be dragged onto shores by hooks, which ultimately causes them pain. She says the reason why people treat fish with such little care is because fish have no way of communicating their pain unlike other animals such as cats or dogs, so the thought of them suffering never crosses our mind. I do not think humans should have to feel sorry for not considering how these sea creatures feel because they are just doing what they have to do. They are not intentionally trying to hurt the fish, but rather they are catching fish the same way other fisherman have been doing it for years. It is not fair to accuse them of treating the fish poorly when they are just doing what is routine.

   Following her accusations that humans treat fish uncivilly, Braithwaite then discusses how she and fellow biologists stimulated a painful response in a trout by injected diluted vinegar and bee venom under its skin. If anything, this experiment is way harsher than just placing hooks on fish because she was aware of what she was doing and wanted to stimulate an irritating response. I believe that they should not spend money or time on experimenting on the one animal they are trying to save. I understand that she is trying to prove a point, but I feel she could have done it in a better way.

   Overall, I do not agree in any way with Braithwaite’s argument. While she does make very valid arguments through the article as to why humans must reassess what they know about fish, I do not find her claims very powerful. In my opinion, time should not be wasted on research that I believe most people will not find particularly important. Thanks to this article I am now aware of the pain and suffering fish can experience, however, it will not change my opinion of how we human beings should treat them.