New Research Confirms Fish Experience Intense Pain for Up to 22 Minutes After Being Pulled from Water

Fish, just like mammals and reptiles, belong to the animal kingdom. Specifically, they are classified as vertebrates, which means they have backbones. However, unlike other vertebrates, fish cannot breathe outside of water. It is because the organ they used to extract oxygen, called gills, collapses when exposed to air.

Most people already know this fact, but most of you probably did not know that they can feel intense pain for up to 22 minutes when taken out of the water, for exactly the same reason why they couldn’t breathe. Let’s dive deeper into how this whole mechanism works and if fish even have the capacity to feel the same pain as human beings.

Gasping for Air—And Suffering

A recent study found that when fish like rainbow trout are taken out of the water, they suffer from intense pain that usually lasts 10 minutes and up to 22 minutes in some cases. This is because their gills did not evolve to function outside of water.

When taken out of their natural environment, their gills, used to extract oxygen, collapse to the point where the surface area for gas exchange is completely blocked. They would not be able to breathe, and it also causes CO₂ buildup, which in turn acidifies their blood, sending stress signals to their brain, until they lose consciousness.

Read more: Science Alert

Beyond the Struggle—Real Pain Happens

Fish endure intense pain for up to 22 minutes when killed, study finds

Fish have shown their capacity for having nociception, the neural process in charge of processing stressful and damaging stimuli. This means they not only react reflexively, but they can sense harmful stimuli, similar to how mammals like humans experience pain.

When taken out of the water, they have been observed to gasp, flop erratically, and change physiologically, which are all signs of suffering. While there is still a scientific debate on whether they can feel pain in the same way and intensity humans do, research suggests fish perceive damaging stimuli that is likely mediated by the same neural pathways in other vertebrates in charge of feeling pain.

What Experts Say About Fish Sentience

Evidence from various studies suggests that fish have a nervous system with nociceptors, opioid receptors, and behavioral responses that are very similar to mammals’ pain receptors.

Researchers like Lynne Sneddon and Victoria Braithwaite, were some of the first pioneers to demonstrate that fish could feel pain. They were able to impact the global animal welfare research, to the point that authorities have changed guidelines on how fish should be treated in laboratories and fisheries in various countries.

Read more: The Guardian

What This Means for Aquatic Research and Policy

The discovery that fish could experience prolonged pain is reshaping the aquatic research community. The new study is influencing other theses and activities in different fields like neurobiology, behavioral science, and marine ecology.

Although it is often ignored, authorities have set new guidelines for how fish are studied, handled, and managed in various environments. They are also passing the welfare data to different fisheries and conservation shelters.

Do Fish Feel Pain? Striking new evidence says yes

Author's Final Thoughts

This eye-opening research might be unbelievable to some people, and others will completely ignore it. The fact that it confirms that fish can endure real, intense pain for 10 to 22 minutes after being pulled from water is hard to make sense of, and that’s okay. You do not have to do anything, but we hope that knowing the science gives you a clearer picture of the hidden world beneath the surface.

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