Most people have a very low expectation of fish intelligence. The reality is that fish are far smarter than many people give them credit for. Viewers will see fish in a different light after Culum Brown introduces them to the intelligence of fishes. He will also discuss some of the implications from this new appreciation of fish cognition. Professor Culum is a well-known champion of fish intelligence and welfare at Macquarie University where he teaches Vertebrate Evolution and Behaviour.

Can fish feel pain? Are they intelligent? Are they even conscious? When it comes to how humans treat fish, there is a paradox with devastating consequences. On one hand, fish are the animals that humans kill in the largest number for food, by far. Even a conservative estimate of how many killed yearly is about 2 trillion, which is 17 times the number of humans who have ever lived. On the other hand, fish are the animals humans protect the least from cruelty and suffering, both culturally and legally. Culturally, yanking them out of the water and suffocating them is considered a fun day out, and legally most laws that protect animals exclude them altogether. In practice, this means that out of all the animals used for food, fish are the animals who most likely suffer the most, both in numbers and intensity. And one of the reasons for this is the common outdated and inaccurate perception held by many about fish. Unlike dogs, cats, chickens and pigs who are recognized as individuals that feel, think and suffer, people often think of fish as primitive, stupid animals who can’t feel pain. This film offers evidence suggesting that fish feel, think and suffer, much like dogs, cats and other animals.

In his talk Jonathan combines science with story-telling to explore the colorful lives of the least understood (and most maligned) vertebrates on Earth. Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water. Balcombe’s talk will blow your fishy biases clear out of the water. Animal behavior expert Jonathan Balcombe is a passionate advocate for animals and their living spaces or living species. His New York Times best-selling new book, What A Fish Knows, celebrates the rich and complex lives of our underwater cousins, and, like his earlier books, Pleasurable Kingdom, Second Nature, and The Exultant Ark, presages a revolution in the human-animal relationship.

Do fish have personalities? Marine biologist Even Moland’s research has taken him around the world, from the Great Barrier Reef to Skagerrak, Norway. In studying the behaviour and movement of fish and lobsters–how they live, where they hide, which ones are caught by fishers, and which ones escape to obtain large sizes and old age–he’s also learning how marine populations can be protected. Moland and his colleagues are using diving, tagging and tracking to study the movement, life and fate of marine animals.

On this episode of Fresh Air, NPR’s Terry Gross interviews author Jonathan Balcombe on his new book exploring the inner lives of fish.