The first time I had to yank a hook out of a baby fish, my heart trebled. When I searched on the internet on whether fish feel pain, I found very little information.



So this book should get stars simply by being the first to devote an entire book to the topic. A very important topic I believe.



It is a thin book, obviously, but that's hardly the author's fault, as there really is relatively little research done on the topic.



It is an overall well written book. I felt the first couple of chapters of introductory to the main theme sometimes is a little slow, occasionally saying the things most people already know. But once the book started to talk about the author's own scientific experiments investigating whether fish feel pain, it became very interesting. Maybe because I'm not a biologist, so there is a lot of curiosity in me to see how this is done. I'm glad all is described in detail and in a way a lay person can understand. I found her experiments fascinating and it would be a great read for any high school or even middle school kids pondering a career in science.



The following chapters when the author argued in different aspects why fish do feel pain are very convincing and equally fascinating.



The end of the book talked about fish welfare, which is very good. I had not been aware of the inhumane practices in the fishing industry.



It's good the author is not taking a stand on angling. She is quite philosophical about it. I do wish she give more instructions on how to treat fish more humanely when you do enjoy angling, such as what's the fastest and least painful way to kill a fish once you get it.



The book is definitely worth reading, even just for the juicy animal behavior examples, like how two different marine species cooperate to hunt.



I do hope in a few years the author can update the book with new discoveries and new development, and make it a even more authoritative volume on the subject.