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I was thinking about this today. A couple years ago, my youth group and I were staying at a cottage for the weekend, and we went fishing for dinner. Upon returning, we were to prepare the fish--and I was appalled that they began filleting the fish alive.

One of the adults even remarked, "When I do this with bigger fish like salmon, they're usually still alive even after I've done the other side."

I, in my infinite kindness, began to show mercy to the fish by stabbing them in their brains.

So, I'm just wondering--how wrong is it to fillet a fish while it lives? To me, it's pretty damn morally wrong.

Pretty damn wrong. Leave it out of water for a few minutes, it'll be dead soon enough.

Originally posted by FeceMan
I was thinking about this today. A couple years ago, my youth group and I were staying at a cottage for the weekend, and we went fishing for dinner. Upon returning, we were to prepare the fish--and I was appalled that they began filleting the fish alive.

One of the adults even remarked, "When I do this with bigger fish like salmon, they're usually still alive even after I've done the other side."

I, in my infinite kindness, began to show mercy to the fish by stabbing them in their brains.

So, I'm just wondering--how wrong is it to fillet a fish while it lives? To me, it's pretty damn morally wrong.

Um duh fish feel pain. PETA already acknowledges this, you're going to burn in non vegetarian.

I hope you like the thought of being filleted!

Originally posted by Cory Chaos
Pretty damn wrong. Leave it out of water for a few minutes, it'll be dead soon enough. Akin to drowning someone.

Originally posted by Soleran
you're going to burn in non vegetarian.
What?

What?

And what's so humane about letting a fish suffocate?

I usually just give em a good smack on the head with a wooden mallet. Quick and painless, and then you're free to fillet!

I think it's flat out rude to fillet a fish while it's still alive.

larger predatorial fish are very intelligent and i would image can suffer. you might do better to just sever the spinal column....less brutal that way.

Originally posted by =Tired Hiker=
I think it's flat out rude to fillet a fish while it's still alive.

I don't think it's something that you would go to hell for, but why somebody wouldn't just kill the fish first is beyond me....

Assuming there is something as morally wrong. Assuming fileting a fish alive is morally wrong. I'd say "5"....at least.

I think fishing alone is morally wrong. Dragging a living thing out of its environment using a hook from its mouth, what's humane about that?

Must be pretty damn awkward to fillet a live fish, why not just hit it on the head a few times with your trusty mallet?

To answer the question I wouldn't say its any more less moral than catching the fish in the first place with the intention to keep it/eat it.

Originally posted by FeceMan
I was thinking about this today. A couple years ago, my youth group and I were staying at a cottage for the weekend, and we went fishing for dinner. Upon returning, we were to prepare the fish--and I was appalled that they began filleting the fish alive.

One of the adults even remarked, "When I do this with bigger fish like salmon, they're usually still alive even after I've done the other side."

I, in my infinite kindness, began to show mercy to the fish by stabbing them in their brains.

So, I'm just wondering--how wrong is it to fillet a fish while it lives? To me, it's pretty damn morally wrong.

Depends. If the guy throws the fish on the grill enjoying to see the fish writhe -- then I'd say yeah, it's morally wrong.

If the guy just throws the fish on the grill cause he's concerned about feeding his 3 starving kids right away - then no.

I don't eat any kind of seafood and I think that to fish and to hunt is wrong but that is me.I do eat some meat btw!Anyway no I don't think it is morally wrong to do thta to a fish.
I disargee with skining but that is just me.There is alot more stuff morally wrong then something as little as that.jm

How alive are you talking here? Because its pretty difficult to fillet a fish if its alive and moving

Anyways, I don't see a point in keeping it alive while you do it, it makes it more difficult and results in fillets that are sub par and filled with bones.

In terms of morality, I think there is something wrong with it. It seems kinda cruel IMO.

FeceMan don't stab it that causes way more pain, less than filleting but a lot more than just a quick smack on the head, it smashes the brain against the skull killing it instantly.Can't really see the purpose of filleting it alive it'd make your fillets poor quality and its not much effort to kill it beforehand

Originally posted by J-Beowulf
I usually just give em a good smack on the head with a wooden mallet. Quick and painless, and then you're free to fillet!

That's what I always do, too.

Kiling a fish is mean and making it suffer while doing that is just pure evil.jm

Originally posted by {{QS}}
FeceMan don't stab it that causes way more pain, less than filleting but a lot more than just a quick smack on the head, it smashes the brain against the skull killing it instantly.Can't really see the purpose of filleting it alive it'd make your fillets poor quality and its not much effort to kill it beforehand
Oops.

Well, my heart was in the right place...why does it cause more pain?

I'd say it's pretty ****ing bad to deal that much pain to any animal at all, and it this case it would be so easy to simply kill it first and not have it suffer. Why would anyone let if live through this? I can't comprehend it.

a fish that is filleted alive is not a big issue. How do people come up with this...

No Idea. Some people are just very sensitive when they fail to realise millions of fish are caught and killed every day...

FISH DO NOT FEEL PAIN.

Originally posted by chillmeistergen
I think fishing alone is morally wrong. Dragging a living thing out of its environment using a hook from its mouth, what's humane about that?

You'd think so, but when you consider that most fish have adapted to having crustaceans and gastropods as neighbors and prey and when you see some of the things those animals do with their barbs, stingers, and pinchers, most fish can deal with a hook in the mouth. Why else do some intelligent fish bite onto the same barbed hook multiple times when your fishing? Some of these things eat urchins.
As for the main question, it's a real problem. Severing the head is problematic in that it's really hard to clean a fish after that's gone. We usually chill the fish while it's still alive, something that most fish are used to. Once the fish is asleep, you can then pretty much do anything you want without hurting it.
Another thing you must consider is that salmon feel virtually nothing but anger and horniness when they run and thus probably won't feel pain. That's why they bite bare hooks that bonk them in the face rather than avoid them. I mean look at what bears do to them!!!

Originally posted by FeceMan
I was thinking about this today. A couple years ago, my youth group and I were staying at a cottage for the weekend, and we went fishing for dinner. Upon returning, we were to prepare the fish--and I was appalled that they began filleting the fish alive.

One of the adults even remarked, "When I do this with bigger fish like salmon, they're usually still alive even after I've done the other side."

I, in my infinite kindness, began to show mercy to the fish by stabbing them in their brains.

So, I'm just wondering--how wrong is it to fillet a fish while it lives? To me, it's pretty damn morally wrong.

Not morally wrong at all....why would it? I would find morally wrong to starve yourself when there is plenty of food around.

Geez...if everything we do is to be regarded as morally wrong when we eat...we might as well not live at all. What's the point of surviving then?

Originally posted by FeceMan
Oops.

Well, my heart was in the right place...why does it cause more pain?

if you know exactly where it's brain is and your aim is true its perhaps the most humane way to kill it. however their brains are quite small, so if its a hit-or-miss thing it could be very brutal.

Originally posted by FeceMan
Oops.

Well, my heart was in the right place...why does it cause more pain?

No blood is lost through an impact theres no millisecond of fear as the skin is broken.Its much less painful than being filleted alive but being smacked on the head is much more humane for the fish.

dude, you realise that by just having the thing out of water and on the slab its afraid, right? not like the fish is thinking "oh, he's picking me up! maybe he's going to pet me. oh look, he just layed me out on this board....maybe he's going to give me a massage? if it cant breath im sure its not pleased

Fish have feelings too.

Originally posted by Eccentric
Fish have feelings too.

Thats debatable.

anyone who's ever kept carnivorous fish would disagree. ever see a fish beg for food? ever see one sulk in the corner because you somehow upset it? i have.

Fish are almost at the bottom of the food chain.....every other animal eats them...it's perfectly natural to catch a fish, gut the sh*t out of it, then eat it.....

Besides I love fish.... dont fkn tell me I can't eat Fish

so, a shark is at the bottom of the food chain? sweeping generalisation ftw

I thought sharks were much higher on the food chain...

Originally posted by Goddess Kali
Besides I love fish.... dont fkn tell me I can't eat Fish

did you read the thread topic? i guess not. oh well.

Originally posted by Goddess Kali
I thought sharks were much higher on the food chain...

did you read my post? i guess not. oh well.

I did read the topic....I like fish, so i don't care if its morally wrong or not to eat them

Originally posted by Goddess Kali
I did read the topic....I like fish, so i don't care if its morally wrong or not to eat them

now, read the topic....no read the TITLE even, if you're too lazy to read the topic.


here:

"How morally wrong is it to fillet a fish alive?"

Holy Sh*t...how the **** did i not see that


Is it even possible to eat fish alive though ? Wouldn't it die the first bite you take ?

when they filet them they basically just slap them down on the cutting board alive, evescerate them, and slice each side down to the rib bones. considering the brain and spinal column are untouched and functional, i would imagine it experiences every moment of it. i guess the big debate is whether it feels pain. i believe that any creature which has a sense of touch, feels pain. its just that people dont tend to even want to debate this as many find it impossible to sympathise with a non-mammal

It's wrong then...sorry



I can't imagine how it could possibly be right to torture any living creature like that...whether it's a human, dog, snake, bird, fish, whatever.....it's still alive, and if it feels pain, then that's torture.

ive never heard a fish ask me to stop while cutting into its belly to gut it.

Now boiling a lobster is just wrong though, they scream. I would never boil lobster

Originally posted by ragesRemorse
ive never heard a fish ask me to stop while cutting into its belly to gut it.

Now boiling a lobster is just wrong though, they scream. I would never boil lobster

that "screaming" sound is just heated/compressed air escaping. in fact if you drop them in cold water and let it heat up to a boil, they barely even move the whole time. (no more than normal, anyhow)

I wonder if a Piranha or a Great Shark have any morals when they eat a human.....hmm




I would boiled them without thinking it twice....problem is that lobsters are ridicolus expensive....but darn they're so meaty.

*gets bread and butter*

Originally posted by Schecter
that "screaming" sound is just heated/compressed air escaping. in fact if you drop them in cold water and let it heat up to a boil, they barely even move the whole time. (no more than normal, anyhow)

wow, thats quite interesting. All these years i have avoided cooking lobster at home beause i thought that screaming was them crying has been lost lobster eating time...time to go to the store and get me some lobster tonight

thanks for the science lesson schecter, now i have ammunition against animal rights activists

ever stop and ponder the reality that when you eat crab, lobster, and shrimp you're really eating giant bugs?

Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
I wonder if a Piranha or a Great Shark have any morals when they eat a human.....hmm



Not at all...thier only concern is survival....


We as human beings, however, are smarter (well, not that much smarter, but a little bit more). We have the ability to recognize and sympathize for one's pain. They don't.

That's one of the major things that separate the fish from human..besides DNA and sh*t








Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
I would boiled them without thinking it twice....problem is that lobsters are ridicolus expensive....but darn they're so meaty.

*gets bread and butter*


Yeah what a waste...Salmon and Sardines are so much tastier droolio

Originally posted by Schecter
ever stop and ponder the reality that when you eat crab, lobster, and shrimp you're really eating giant bugs?

I have. And it tastes great. And Lobster has to be cooked alive, doesn't it?

I've also wondered if you could cook a spider the same way you can a crab. As in, would it change colours and be all good to eat.

im not sure. however turantula is a delecacy in some places, so who knows?

Originally posted by Schecter
ever stop and ponder the reality that when you eat crab, lobster, and shrimp you're really eating giant bugs?

not till now...thanks alot ass hole. There goes the only seafood that i enjoy

Filleting fish? Hell think about what you're doing when you eat broccoli or a carrot/apple you just plucked from a tree, or any fresh plant for that matter. At least the fish are dead when you consume them. Plants get the joy of being killed by digestive enzymes. We should stop eating things altogether because it's just so damn cruel to live.

fish

Originally posted by ragesRemorse
not till now...thanks alot ass hole. There goes the only seafood that i enjoy

you're welcome doped

Originally posted by Schecter
ever stop and ponder the reality that when you eat crab, lobster, and shrimp you're really eating giant bugs?

Except you're totally not.

Don't make absurd statements.

Originally posted by Alliance


Don't make absurd statements.

Neither should you. Idiot.

I bang the fish on the side walk until it's unconscious first. They don't have eye lids.

Originally posted by Alliance
Except you're totally not.

Don't make absurd statements.

what an absurd statement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod

now eat your humble pie, k?

Vegetarians don't have to worry about this.

eat

Originally posted by debbiejo
Vegetarians don't have to worry about this.

eat

You're not a vegetarian, so stay concerned.

80% I am....

The real question is: How fresh do you need your food?

I don't really see much of a problem with it, I mean, the fish will be dead within seconds. I'd prefer to smack it with a priest first, simply to make the filleting easier.

Originally posted by debbiejo
Vegetarians don't have to worry about this.

eat

Originally posted by AngryManatee
Filleting fish? Hell think about what you're doing when you eat broccoli or a carrot/apple you just plucked from a tree, or any fresh plant for that matter. At least the fish are dead when you consume them. Plants get the joy of being killed by digestive enzymes. We should stop eating things altogether because it's just so damn cruel to live.

I've often thought about this myself since I'm an avid fisherman.

"broccoli or a carrot/apple you just plucked from a tree."

Last time I checked, carrots and broccoli weren't found on a tree.

The 1 rule of fishing

Respect the Fish

or wait..

Maybe it was always check your line

Well actually eating fruits and veggies raw is best and they would be considered alive. They just don't have nerve endings. Eating anything alive is better for you, however our digestive system wasn't made for digesting live or dead animals. It's tougher on us.

OK back to fish. I prefer everything that breathes dead before I eat it.

Originally posted by debbiejo
Well actually eating fruits and veggies raw is best and they would be considered alive. They just don't have nerve endings. Eating anything alive is better for you, however our digestive system wasn't made for digesting live or dead animals. It's tougher on us.

OK back to fish. I prefer everything that breathes dead before I eat it.

plants breath

No