Do fish have feelings?

If you’ve eaten and enjoyed squid and/or octopus, does it bother you to know they are intelligent creatures?

Somehow it bothers me less to eat meat that comes from a dumb animal, like chicken or cow. But that doesn’t make sense. Who decides how dumb is dumb enough?

My dad took us fishing several times when we were little and I saw what happened when we caught one, the hook going through its face, its body wriggling like a tongue. The first time, maybe 4 years old, I cried.

“They don’t feel pain the same way we do. This doesn’t even hurt this little guy,” said Dad. He was absolutely firm in his answer, and at that age I always believed him.