Fish and Tzaar Baalei Chaim

Is fishing for sport permitted? Is there an issue of tzaar baalei chaim?

 Shalom! 

Thank you for your question. 

There is indeed a view within halachic literature that tza’ar ba’alei chaim, the prohibition against causing needless pain and suffering to animals, does not apply to fish. 

This opinion is derived from the laws of shechita. The Pri Megadim, in his introduction to the laws of shechita, notes that one of the reasons that a shechita knife must be uncompromisingly sharp is in order to prevent tza’ar ba’alei chaim. In contrast, the Torah does not require any form of shechita for fish. Merely removing fish from the water and allowing them to die naturally is all that is required in order to be able to eat them. In fact, one may put fish to death in any manner one chooses. It seems from here, says the Pri Megadim, that the Torah was unconcerned about tza’ar ba’alei chaim with regard to fish. 

So too, the prohibition of eiver min hachai, the prohibition against cutting a limb from a living animal and eating it, does not apply to fish either. In theory, one would be permitted to slice off a piece of a fish and eat it while the fish is still alive. It goes without saying, however, that a sensitive and merciful person would never do such things regardless of whether or not it is technically permissible to do so. 

Although there are authorities do indeed hold that tza’ar ba’alei chaim applies to fish just as it applies to all other living creatures. 

As such, Lehalacha we say because of the reasons mentioned above and other reasons, that fishing solely for sport or pastime is permitted.