Sometimes, even compassionate people seem to disregard fish. I know: I was one of them. Years after I stopped eating meat, I identified as a vegetarian but would still have a little sushi. It was a long time before I realized—thanks to PETA—that fish are sentient beings who feel pain acutely and struggle against death. Perhaps a few other people are having their own "aha" moment right now, thanks to PETA Germany's recent victory for fish. 

Acting on a tip, two PETA Germany investigators joined some tourists on a crab fishing boat operating along the northern coast. The crab fishing itself wasn't illegal, but the way the anglers were tormenting their "bycatch," fish, certainly was. Under German law, fish must be instantly killed or placed in water after being caught. But these anglers were catching several fish in their crab traps and leaving the unwanted animals to asphyxiate to death on the boat. They even laughed about the animals' struggle to breathe before they died.

The investigators shot video evidence and began throwing suffering fish back into the water. Then they filed a complaint with the Hamburg District Attorney's Office, and the court slapped the owner of the boat with a fine of 400 euros (about $540). He and his crew will likely be taking fish protection laws more seriously now.

If you know someone who claims, "I'm a vegetarian, but I still eat fish," perhaps you can mention this story as a way of illustrating that fish feel pain and, like every other animal, deserve to be free from suffering. 

Hundreds of bass were crammed into tanks inside a truck traveling through Irvine, California, bound for the market. They never made it. The truck flipped over, cracking the tanks, and when firefighters opened the doors, the fish spilled out onto the roadway. Those who were not already dead from their injuries or lack of oxygen suffocated on the pavement.

Had the accident claimed human lives, it wouldn't have been surprising to see a memorial erected for the victims. So, because fish feel pain, value their lives, and don't want to die, just like human beings, PETA has requested that Irvine allow us to place a sign at the accident site in their memory:

Fish are intelligent animals who have impressive long-term memories and develop complex social structures. They use tools, tell time, count, and enjoy singing. But fish killed for food are typically either cut open and gutted alive or suffocated to death. 

The best way for people to keep fish from suffering is to stop eating them. But erecting a memorial that reminds the drivers who haul them to be careful with the lives that they hold in their hands seems like the least that we can do.  

It's not a fish tale—PETA's persuasive Freeda Fish paraded down a Pensacola pier asking hookers to quit the business.

While the hooking they were doing might not have been illegal, it certainly wasn't very nice to fish, so Freeda made sure that the fresh catch of this day was the insight that fish are friends, not food. 

The Miami Marlins swing into the regular season in a new ballpark, opening tonight, featuring engraved pavement stones in the East Plaza, one of which reads:

As you may have detected, the first letters of the words in this message spell out "FishingHurts.com," a Web address that brings up a page on PETA's website about the cruelty involved in fishing and the reasons to give fish a break. Yep, it's a hidden message placed by PETA—after all, when animals' lives are on the line (pun intended), why limit attention-getting pranks about fish to April Fools' Day?

Help the (Real) Marlins Win!

Marlins are a species of fish. And they, like all fish, are much more beautiful alive and swimming in the ocean than on a menu.

Fish (including marlins) feel pain, and they suffer when they're caught on a hook or in a net and dragged into an environment in which they can't breathe. It's much better to choose cruelty-free activities instead—like, say, watching a baseball game.

No? In honor of "Fish Are Friends, Not Food" Week, here are five reasons why we should leave our finned friends off our forks too:

1. Fish are smart cookies. Fish can count and tell time, they are fast learners, they think ahead, they have unique personalities, and they may even have a sense of humor.

2. Eating fish is not so smart. Fish flesh is frequently contaminated with mercury, medications, household chemicals, PCBs, DDT, and other toxins. If you wouldn't drink water tainted by sewage, heavy metals, and other contaminants, why risk your health by eating fish who are pulled from this toxic brew?

3. Fish feel pain—as all animals do. A recent undercover investigation inside a fish slaughter facility found that workers were using pliers to peel away strips of skin from conscious, struggling animals.

4. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out …. A few years ago, a man sued a Chicago restaurant after, he said, he became violently ill from eating an undercooked salmon salad—and later passed a 9-foot-long tapeworm. Seafood can also spread hepatitis A, noroviruses, and other foodborne illnesses. 

5. If we keep gobbling them up, there won't be any fish left. Scientists say that two-thirds of all tuna, grouper, cod, and other "predator fish" have been caught and consumed by humans—and the rest will likely perish in the decades ahead. The only truly "sustainable" fish is fake.

Check out PETA's website for more reasons to stick up for fish.

Written by Paula Moore

The following was first published on the Huffington Post:

Catholic bishops in the U.K. want to reinstate year-round meatless Fridays, which sounds great to us, except for one thing: They still seem to be hung up on the idea that fish are swimming vegetables.

Clicksy/cc by 2.0

What am I, chopped rutabaga?

Like all other animals killed for food, fish are sentient beings who value their lives. Research on fish intelligence abounds, revealing that fish use tools, tell time, sing, and have impressive long-term memories and complex social structures. Fish also create cognitive maps that allow them to navigate through vast expanses of water.

More importantly, like other animals, fish feel pain. Renowned scientist Victoria Braithwaite noted, "[T]here is as much evidence that fish feel pain and suffer as there is for birds and mammals." Fish used for food are hooked, suffocated, crushed, impaled, cut open, and gutted, all while still conscious, and they feel every agonizing second.
 

Not eating animals is a smart, compassionate decision, regardless of whether those animals are furred, feathered, or finned.What better time than World Week for the Abolition of Meat to let fish off the hook?