I've heard that water-boarding is a very intense form of torture; and that is essentially about making a person feel like they are drowning. I wonder how the fish experience compares.
this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2025
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I was under the impression that to a fish pain is more of a "get out of there" signal than what it is to us.
is what happens to us not in fact a "get out of here" signal to us? what makes you think a fishes subjective experience of pain is any more pleasant than your own?
Our pain isn't a "get out of here" signal, it's a "you've been hurt" signal. Fish don't have a reason to suffer. We do, because we're social creatures.
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that's why there is Ikejime, the japanese method to dispatch fish
I just use a fish bonker. A firm strike at the base of the head with a club is instant. I can't say if it preserves the meat as I normally eat it right away or store it for the winter months in the freezer.
Without water, the delicate gill structures that exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide stick together, causing CO2 from respiration to accumulate. These rising levels trigger nociception – the body's alarm system – which causes the fish to gasp. Eventually the elevated CO2 levels acidify the animal's blood and cerebrospinal fluid, ultimately resulting in unconsciousness.
Holy shit. That's horrific.
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