What would it take to change the perception of fish in pop culture?

This Atlas Obscura story about a Japanese diver who has been friends for 25 years with a fish, a sheepshead wrasse, is an awfully cute story.


It also makes me wonder about changing human perceptions about fish. Until relatively recently, the consensus both scientific and popular seems to be that fish were not at all bright, that they were barely more than automatons. The idea of fish as beings that—for instance—might be worthy of concern or care was just not there.

This has started to change recently. Not only are there stories like this, but there have recently been scientific studies suggesting cognition among fish is more complex than we once thought. They can have enduring memories, personalities, social skills, even a liking for play. If cephalopods, once feared as monsters, can start to gain a reputation as cute smart things, surely fish cannot be far behind. We have Finding Nemo, after all.

I wonder if we can advance the timetable for recognizing fish skills and even empathizing with fish by much. I am inclined to say not: as smart as many fish may be, they are (in aggregate) less smart, less like us, and less in regular contact than other species pop culture and science began to praise. Or am I wrong?
 
But how do you change the perception of fish as stupid? After all, you just need a line tied to a pole and something on the end of it and sooner or later some fish will bite it. That makes people think of fish as stupid. Same thing when fishing boats can drag in thousands of fish in nets, which compared to other animals we eat, is a different perception than cows, chickens, pigs, etc. Since I'd wager a lot more people have personally caught and prepared a fish rather than slaughtered a chicken and processed it, that's another disconnect from the animal since we're more willing to kill it and not as likely to empathise with it (or otherwise ignore the thought of how the meat came to the table). Fish just feel less human to most people than other animals do.

That's not getting into sharks, cephalopods, and other sea creatures which people historically and now fear.

It's also interesting that dolphins and whales have quite a different perception compared to actual fish. Is any part of it because of the fact they're mammals?
 

PhilippeO

Banned
But how do you change the perception of fish as stupid? After all, you just need a line tied to a pole and something on the end of it and sooner or later some fish will bite it. That makes people think of fish as stupid.

Its possible to fish, bait and trap squirrel, rabbit or mouse too. But in children cartoon and literature they usually the clever one.

human perception is not always connected to reality, many scientist believes pigs/hogs is at least as clever as dogs. In fiction Dogs is almost always cleverer than pigs.
 
Its possible to fish, bait and trap squirrel, rabbit or mouse too. But in children cartoon and literature they usually the clever one.

human perception is not always connected to reality, many scientist believes pigs/hogs is at least as clever as dogs. In fiction Dogs is almost always cleverer than pigs.

That's true, but with fishing you have the active role in things. You don't just set your trap and come back to find the animal there, you're watching for the fish (which you usually can't see) and then reeling the fish in. Certainly that must affect the perception of things.

The problem is that human perception is indeed not connected to reality in many cases. Pigs look stupid because they roll around in the mud and slime, disgusting animals! Plus they eat that nasty slop (if they aren't eating who knows what!), obviously pigs are stupid! That's what got the perception of pigs the way it is, and a key reason their meat is taboo in some religions, but in reality we know pigs are smart and surprisingly clean animals.
 

trurle

Banned
The emotional attachment to fish is not new. I remember a tragic WWII-era Soviet novel featuring aquarium fish set free when the aquarium was disbanded, and dying due to been cut by the screw (she did not knew to fear of ships). Well, that novel was specifically about dumb fish. Producing a different outcome (that particular fish clinging to former aquarium site and been rescued after war) may result a smarter image of fishes. Although I think the "smarter fish" image would be short-lived simply because it is too disconnected from perceived reality. Fishes are a huge genera with diversity far exceeding mammals, and many of fish varieties are stupid/dumb. Furthermore, knowledge bias favors common people to be accustomed more with dumb/stupid fishes - because these are more likely to be catch.
 
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That's true, but with fishing you have the active role in things. You don't just set your trap and come back to find the animal there, you're watching for the fish (which you usually can't see) and then reeling the fish in. Certainly that must affect the perception of things.

The problem is that human perception is indeed not connected to reality in many cases. Pigs look stupid because they roll around in the mud and slime, disgusting animals! Plus they eat that nasty slop (if they aren't eating who knows what!), obviously pigs are stupid! That's what got the perception of pigs the way it is, and a key reason their meat is taboo in some religions, but in reality we know pigs are smart and surprisingly clean animals.

With cetaceans, in the 19th century the trend was to see whales and the like as monsters--Moby Dick is an excellent example. It was only in the 20th century, with the beginning of systematic research, that cetacean intelligence and sociability began to be recognized. I would be willing to bet that nowadays they're seen as cute smart creatures, maybe near-equals.

Cephalopods are arguably at an earlier point in this trajectory from "gross and dumb" to "cute and smart" but there are on the way. The past decade has seen a lot of media coverage regarding the popularization of knowledge of the intelligence of these beings, some recent coverage--Octlantis, a physical community of the Australian coast--also focusing on their sociability. And, too, they can be cute.

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(I snapped this photo of a baby cuttlefish earlier this week at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto. Strongly recommended.)

If you can buy plush toys of an animal, it seems to me that it has a relatively secure place in the hearts and minds of at least some.

With fish, I'm not sure. I do know from my experience as a goldfish owner years ago that they did have a certain intelligence. They were fine dealing with my cat, and they knew when I was coming to feed them.
 
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