Apparently it's a common myth that fish don't feel pain. I think it's because they show pain differently than mammals (for example, if a salmon let down an ear-shattering shierk when caught, I think we'd think differently) and people don't want to think about it.

they don't want to think about it, or they directly think that all animals doesn't feel pain (or that the pain they suffer it's not important because they are just animals and "we as humans, are above them".

As a kid I liked to go fishing with my step father, and we (or at least I) never thought about what the fish felt, as they were so different to us, and they taught us that this was normal and fun.

It was years later that I really thought about it.

My dad is adamant that fish don't feel pain. He just heard it from someone when he was young, and accepted it as fact because it made him feel better as a fishing enthusiast.

People also believe that goldfish have no memory, and insects don't think or even aren't alive. You'll notice the common thread of these exonerating us for our tiny bowls and our swatting.

It's like the modern version of "animals don't have a soul".

Some fishing magazines downplay what the fish experience before being murdered.

'It's OK kids, they're made out of styrofoam. They can't actually feel any pain'