Putting a hook through a fish's lip is considered "normal" but if you were to do the same to a dog or cat, only then is it considered animal cruelty. Similar to how humans can't breathe underwater, fish can't breathe out of water. ... Fish are left permanently wounded from hooks, or later suffer a slow and painful death.

Do fish feel pain from hooks?

Catch-and-release fishing is seen as a harmless hobby thanks in part to the belief that fish do not experience pain, and so they do not suffer when a hook pierces their lips, jaws, or other body parts.

Is it cruel to hook a fish?

Catch-and-release fishing is cruelty disguised as “sport.” Studies show that fish who are caught and then returned to the water suffer such severe physiological stress that they often die of shock. ... These and other injuries make fish easy targets for predators once they are returned to the water.