It is regrettable that this article goes on to show the ignorance of the author by shallowly suggesting that the discovery merely has implications for the way people feed upon fish. He does not stop to consider that there are deeper issues here. This research demonstrates, if it even need be demonstrated, that there is a level of consciousness possessed by aquatic animals, in contrast to common opinion regarding them. Fish also have a level of consciousness that must be taken into account in the decision that humans make to eat them. As the zen buddists say, they don't eat anything that runs away (or swims, for that matter), because that action vividly demonstrates both consciousness and fear of death.
Smart fish learn tricks
Food triggers memory
by JAMES MILLS in London
(Sunday Telegraph, 5th Oct 2003 p 47)
GLIDING aimlessly around the fishbowl, they give little indication of
intelligence.
But it seems that goldfish are not as gormless as they look.
Far from having a memory span of only.a few seconds, as is commonly
believed, goldfish can actually remember things for at least three months.
Not only that, they can be trained to push levers at a certain time
to get food, putting them on a par with birds and small mammals.
The results were made by researchers at Plymouth University. Psychologist
Dr Philip Gee installed a food dispenser attached to a lever in a tank
of five goldfish. When the fish nudged the lever, food was released into
the water, and the goldfish soon learned to push the lever when they were
hungry.
But as the the experiment progressed, Dr Gee made things more complicated.
He adjusted the lever so it would work only during one hour each day.
The goldfish adapted to the new routine and would nudge the lever far
less during the hours that it did not dispense food.
But as the feeding hour approached, they would gather around the lever,
having apparently remembered it was lunchtime. "It shows they are able
to adapt to changes in their circumstances, like any other small animals
and birds," Dr Gee said.
The discovery has implications for communities in developing countries
which depend on marine life for food.
Previous research has found that fish such as cod and trout can be
attracted to by pulses of sound transmitted through the water.