Our investigator filmed the gaff hook fishing that takes place every summer in the Strait of Messina, when the feluccas (typical swordfish fishing boats) set sail to catch the fish whose meat is sold to fishmongers and restaurants. Although it is considered a more sustainable method than industrial fishing, as there is no unwanted bycatch of other species, harpoon fishing causes serious suffering.
The swordfish are pierced by blades and knives while they are still alive and death comes after interminable minutes of agony.
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We usually give fish a different moral consideration than other animals. Although we would never inflict such treatment on a pig or a calf, fish are not even entitled to be stunned before they are killed. Stunning is required by law for terrestrial animals as it causes unconsciousness and limits their suffering.
Yet the science is clear: the behaviour of fish is not a mere reflex response to external stimuli but the result of complex cognitive processes. They are sentient beings that are able to experience pain and fear, as well as positive emotions.
We can respect fish too, by choosing not to eat them.