NEW YORK - Touting tofu chowder and vegetarian sushi as alternatives,
animal-rights activists have launched a novel campaign arguing that
fish — contrary to stereotype — are intelligent, sensitive animals no
more deserving of being eaten than a pet dog or cat.

Called the Fish Empathy Project, the campaign reflects a strategy
shift by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as it challenges
a diet component widely viewed as nutritious and uncontroversial.

"No one would ever put a hook through a dog's or cat's mouth," said
Bruce Friedrich, PETA's director of vegan outreach. "Once people start
to understand that fish, although they come in different packaging,
are just as intelligent, they'll stop eating them."

The campaign is in its infancy and will face broad skepticism. Major
groups such as the American Heart Association (news - web sites)
recommend fish as part of a healthy diet; some academics say it is
wrong to portray the intelligence and pain sensitivity of fish as
comparable to mammals.

"Fish are very complex organisms that do all sorts of fascinating
things," said University of Wyoming neuroscientist James Rose. "But to
suggest they know they what's happening to them and worry about it,
that's just not the case."

PETA, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., has campaigned for years against
sport fishing, challenging claims by Rose and others that fish caught
by anglers do not feel pain. PETA also has joined other critics in
decrying the high levels of mercury or other toxins in many fish and
the pollution discharged by many fish farms.

The Empathy Project is a departure in two respects — attempting to
depict the standard practices of commercial fishing as cruel and
seeking to convince consumers that there are ethical reasons for not
eating fish.

"Fish are so misunderstood because they're so far removed from our
daily lives," said Karin Robertson, 24, the Empathy Project manager
and daughter of an Indiana fisheries biologist. "They're such
interesting, fascinating individuals, yet they're so incredibly
abused."

The project was inspired by several recent scientific studies — widely
reported in Britain but little-noticed in the United States —
detailing facets of fish intelligence.

Oxford University researcher Theresa Burt de Perera, for example,
reported that the blind Mexican cave fish is able to interpret water
pressure changes to construct a detailed mental map of its
surroundings.

"Most people dismiss fish as dimwitted pea-brains. ... Yet this is a
great fallacy," wrote University of Edinburgh biologist Culum Brown in
the June edition of New Scientist. "In many areas, such as memory,
their cognitive powers match or exceed those of 'higher' vertebrates,
including non-human primates."

Chris Glass of the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in
Massachusetts led another recent study, showing how North Sea haddock
developed abilities to avoid trawlers' nets.

"There's no doubt that fish of all shapes and forms are capable of
learning fairly complex tasks," Glass said. "They can learn from their
environment and experience."

Yet Glass declined to endorse the don't-eat-fish appeals.

"We don't want to be caught between warring factions," he said. "We're
interested in helping the fisheries industry do a responsible job."

To press their argument, PETA activists plan demonstrations starting
next month at selected seafood restaurants nationwide. PETA also will
urge changes in commercial fishing practices, for example proposing
that trawler crews stun fish before cutting them up.

Friedrich questioned why there is popular support for sparing marine
mammals — dolphins and porpoises — yet minimal concern for species
like tuna, "whose suffering would warrant felony animal cruelty
charges if they were mammals."

Fish-welfare rules would be a new realm for U.S. commercial fishermen.
The National Fisheries Institute, which represents them, has pledged
to help sustain fish stocks but its members have never faced cruelty
regulations regarding their catch.

"It's irresponsible to discourage people from eating fish at a time
when doctors and dietitians advise eating it twice a week," said
institute president John Connelly. "If anything, we should be eating
more fish."

Friedrich acknowledges the difficulty of changing long-held customs,
but thinks his project is worthwhile. "We'd rather go too far than not
far enough," he said.