Yeah? So do tomatoes!

Someone recently sent me a letter stating that they had heard a fish “scream” when it was shot by their dive partner. I heard of some research a few decades back that claimed tomatoes scream when being sliced. The researchers were monitoring chemical changes in the tomatoes that they equated to traumatic response (besides, their little mouths were so small, it was hard to really “hear” them).
While that research was great fuel to give feedback to vegetarians, I didn’t worry too much while making a salad. I do however take it very seriously when I kill a fish. This concern is greater with larger fish whose eyes are larger than mine.

I do not shoot fish that won’t be eaten, and to eat a fish, it must die first. That is true of all meat, fish, and poultry, etc. We, as a society, have removed ourselves from the task of killing our own food, so we don’t consider the rabbit, cow, pig, or whatever is probably screaming as much or more than the fish. It is terribly difficult to eat an animal that hasn’t been killed first, and I haven’t, as of late, heard of “lethal injection” as a technique in agriculture.

Vegetarians are mindful of this “dilemma” and choose not to partake (although, they also claim health benefits of a “meat” free diet). I am a carnivore. I sometimes kill my own “meat”.
I try to do it efficiently to avoid undue pain for the fish. I shot a deer once, nearly forty years ago. I haven’t ever killed a large mammal since. I let someone else do the dirty work for my consumption of meat and poultry. When I shoot a fish, I become acutely aware of its desire to live, except on the occasions when I “stone” the fish (i.e., kill it instantly with the desired, superb shot). When I don’t stone the fish, I dispatch it immediately to avoid unnecessary suffering.

No animal wants to die. I have a sense of respect, awe, and gratitude when I take the life of these animals. Their life for my life. To me it is not trivial. I don’t like to dwell on the “scream” or the look of fear I think I sometimes see, but I am a hunter in the sea and I feed my tribe. This is a sensibility that goes back 10’s of thousands of years and its memory is in my DNA. At least I know the worth of the meat I am eating. I am not grocery-store-removed from the reality of being a carnivore. This is not a macho ideal. I am no fan of the big gun, trophy-hunting mentality. I do not find it a challenge to shoot a deer on a distant slope with a high-powered rifle and optical scope. The deer isn’t even aware of your presence on the planet. I could be convinced to shoot a deer with a bow and arrow. I think a simple bow and arrow, not a high-tech compound bow with sight, etc. At least I would have “earned” it.