Not an answer, but note that there are plausible theories that some kinds of fish might not suffer as much as others from the same conditions.
Some species of fish evolved in environments that become naturally clouded or turgid (river systems that dry up in parts of the year or have a lot of debris inflow in rainy seasons).
Some fish may not have a lifecycle that involves migration, so they might not mind being in the same pond for a long time (as opposed to fish like salmon).
Also, some fish are probably OK living with large numbers of other fish.
I also think that slaughter can be done humanely. It is possible some kinds of slaughter don’t inflict any suffering on the fish.
However, many of the traits above might be concentrated in species of fish that when farmed, have to live for very long periods of time, so suffering is larger.
Also, none of the above might be true. I was thinking of river carp as not migrating, but actually they do, at least in one species.
I am cautious about writing this. But I think it is important to get a sense of animal experiences, which could differ a lot between species and be important in their suffering.
Yeah this uncertainty with regards to fish experience makes this really hard. I suppose this raises the bar in terms of what I would need to eat fish. We need to understand fish welfare better (for a given species) before we can confidently mitigate harm, likely erring on the side of not promoting fish farming until we’re confident we understand fish welfare for the given species of fish.
Not an answer, but note that there are plausible theories that some kinds of fish might not suffer as much as others from the same conditions.
Some species of fish evolved in environments that become naturally clouded or turgid (river systems that dry up in parts of the year or have a lot of debris inflow in rainy seasons).
Some fish may not have a lifecycle that involves migration, so they might not mind being in the same pond for a long time (as opposed to fish like salmon).
Also, some fish are probably OK living with large numbers of other fish.
I also think that slaughter can be done humanely. It is possible some kinds of slaughter don’t inflict any suffering on the fish.
However, many of the traits above might be concentrated in species of fish that when farmed, have to live for very long periods of time, so suffering is larger.
Also, none of the above might be true. I was thinking of river carp as not migrating, but actually they do, at least in one species.
I am cautious about writing this. But I think it is important to get a sense of animal experiences, which could differ a lot between species and be important in their suffering.
Yeah this uncertainty with regards to fish experience makes this really hard. I suppose this raises the bar in terms of what I would need to eat fish. We need to understand fish welfare better (for a given species) before we can confidently mitigate harm, likely erring on the side of not promoting fish farming until we’re confident we understand fish welfare for the given species of fish.