Frequently Asked Questions
Isn?t eating fish good for your health?
Fish absorb all the contamination from the water they live in, so fish flesh is laced with toxins such as mercury, lead, arsenic, PCBs, pesticides, and even industrial strength fire-retardant. Just two servings of fish per week can elevate your blood mercury levels by 700 percent, and study after study has linked fish consumption to fatigue, memory loss, and decreased mental function. Click here for the facts about fish flesh and your health.

So what does the fish industry have to say for itself? It ignores the fact that fish flesh is toxic (the breast milk of some Inuit tribes is so concentrated with poisons from their fish diet that it meets the Environmental Protection Agency?s standards for toxic waste) and points to small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in fish. But you can get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids in nuts and leafy green vegetables ? without losing your mind.

What?s wrong with catch-and-release fishing?
Have you ever seen an injured dog who has been hit by a car or a cat who?s been seriously hurt in a fight? Unless they are treated by a veterinarian, these animals are likely to die from their injuries. Fish are no different: A hook through the mouth causes a serious and extremely painful injury that is often fatal without treatment. But anglers just toss injured fish back into the water?often without realizing what they?ve done.

In addition to the wounds that are caused by the hook, fish released after being caught can suffer from loss of their protective scale coating, dangerous build-up of lactic acid in their muscles, oxygen depletion, and damage to their delicate fins and mouths. Upon being returned to the water, these fish are easy targets for predators and other fishers. Researchers at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation found that as many as 43 percent of fish released after being caught died within six days. Catching fish is cruel and unnecessary, whether they are killed on the spot or thrown back into the water, injured and exhausted.

Didn?t Jesus eat fish?
It?s an interesting question, but Biblical scholars agree that the appropriate question for Christians is, ?What should we be eating?? The Bible clearly says that our bodies are temples and that we should take care of them. Yet it?s a fact that all fish flesh today is contaminated with heavy metals and other toxins. In fact, fish flesh is just about the most polluted thing that humans put into their bodies. On that basis alone, Christians should not be eating it.

Today?s fishing practices are also horribly cruel to God?s creatures. God cares for all His creatures, and the Bible counsels compassion for all beings. We all understand that it is immoral and contrary to Christian mercy to torture dogs and cats. It is equally unchristian to torture and kill (or pay others to torture and kill) fish and other animals. Although they may not be able to scream out in pain, fish have the same capacity for suffering and the same right to compassion as all living beings.


Strange folks, for sure