The Atlantic Haddock fish population is in danger and could be heading toward extinction. The New England Fishery Management Council has lowered catch limits in an attempt to halt overfishing. But this is akin to fixing a broken arm with a Band-Aid. A federal panel approved a salmon fishing ban for much of the West Coast, due to an alarming decline of salmon. A similar halt must be put on East Coast haddock fishing.
Fish are every bit as complex as the dogs and cats who share our homes. They can count and tell time, think ahead, and “talk” to one another underwater. They also feel pain. Culum Brown, a Macquarie University biologist, argues that “it would be impossible for fish to survive as the cognitively and behaviorally complex animals they are without a capacity to feel pain.” And now we are discovering the health risks. A new study has found that eating just a single fish pulled from U.S. lakes or rivers could be equal to drinking water tainted with “forever chemicals” for a month.
Balancing our fragile aquatic ecosystem means reevaluating our treatment of animals. It means letting fish live.
Scott Miller Research Specialist, Fishing & Waterways The PETA Foundation
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