Scientific research clearly shows that fish can feel pain.

It may be difficult for some of us to empathize with fish, but the science is clear: Fish are animals with complex lives and the ability to feel pain. The British Farm Animal Welfare Council reports: “The fact that fish are cold-blooded does not prevent them from having a pain system and, indeed, such a system is valuable in preserving life and maximising the biological fitness of individuals.”

Commercial fishing boats cast nets several miles long to trap tens of thousands of animals.

The number of aquatic animals killed to be eaten in the United States is not reported, but annual estimates exceed 15 billion. Commercial fishers use football field-sized trawlers equipped with advanced electronics to track aquatic animals.

Aquatic animals caught in nets are dragged along the ocean bottom for hours and suffocate when pulled out of the water.

Nets several miles long trap tens of thousands of animals in one “pull.” They’re dragged along the ocean bottoms for hours and eventually killed when the animals are removed from their habitats.

An estimated 15 billion aquatic animals are killed each year in the United States.

The most “sellable” animals are kept onboard, while the rest—dead and dying—are thrown back into the water. As it’s impossible to catch only certain species with nets, hundreds of thousands of “non-target” animals—including seals, whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and birds—become entangled in the nets and die.

Aquaculture, the factory farming of fish, has become lucrative for U.S. animal agribusiness. Many fish species are raised in shallow, concrete troughs. As with other forms of factory farming, the fish are intensively confined and often diseased. The industry responds by dousing them with antibiotics and other chemical treatments, but death losses are still high.