Fish? No, they're 'sea kittens'

Fish feel pain, learn from each other and remember – will 'rebranding' them stop us treating them so cruelly?

Some people – such as anglers, whose lobby group the Anglers Trust relaunches today – don't seem to bond with fish. They think of them as slithery and slimy, and are disconcerted that some fish have eyes on both sides of their heads. Which is why Peta decided to act as PR for fish, giving them a "rebrand" consisting of a new name, "sea kittens," and a more positive image. We felt that when your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image overhaul.

If we put our old prejudices aside, we can see "sea kittens" very differently. Like the dogs and cats in our homes, fish are bright little individuals with their own unique personalities. Dive guides have been known to name friendly fish who follow them around and enjoy being petted, just as dogs or cats. A University of Edinburgh study found that sea kittens can retain information they learned up to 11 months earlier and that they talk to each other through squeaks, squeals, and other low-frequency sounds that we can only hear if we use special instruments.

And fish are not swimming potatoes. Neurobiologists report that fish have nervous systems that comprehend and respond to pain, which Linda McCartney, who wasn't a neurobiologist but an ordinary, observant human being, pointed out long ago when she spoke about "having the common sense to notice that a struggling fish, pulled out of the water, isn't having a good time".

When it comes to the ability to feel pain, fish are like other animals. Donald Broom, a science advisor to the British government says: "The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals." Scientists have created a detailed map of pain receptors in fish's mouths and all over their bodies.

Prepare to have your socks (and waders) knocked off by Culum Brown, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh. He reports that fish have cognitive abilities that equal and sometimes even surpass those of nonhuman primates; they can recognise individuals, use tools and maintain complex social relationships. In Fish and Fisheries, biologists wrote that fish are "steeped in social intelligence, pursuing Machiavellian strategies of manipulation, punishment and reconciliation, exhibiting stable cultural traditions, and co-operating to inspect predators and catch food".

Many species of fish learn how to avoid predators by watching experienced fish. According to Jens Krause of the University of Leeds, while some fish live in hierarchical societies and others have smaller family units, all rely on these "social aggregations" which "act as an information centre where fish can exchange information with each other".

And while "sea kitten hunting," formerly known as angling, is cruel to animals, commercial sea kitten hunting is environmentally catastrophic. It has devastated the ocean's ecosystem to the extent that large fish populations are only 10% what they were in the 1950s. Scientists warn that the damage caused by the fishing industry is irreparable.

So Peta is asking people to stop and think about who, not what, sea kittens are. We ask anglers to lay down their rods and take up a hobby that doesn't hurt anyone on either end of the rod, and to walk briskly past the sea kitten counter in the supermarket. We invite everyone of any age to play the sea kitten game and find out more about Peta's Sea Kittens campaign. It's a bit of fun with a serious message: never dismiss any individual's interests just because they look a bit funny.