Please refraim from calling animal rights mob greenies
Greenies - although most used as a deogratory term comes from people concerned with 'green' issues i.e. ecology, and particularly nature conservation.
Animals rights and issues associated with animals feeling pain is not about ecology. E'g duch hunting debate - those who have pursued the end of duck hunting are animal rights - thouse who pursue the conservation of wetlands ( the real issue underpinning waterfowl population survival) - are greenies (or conservationist).
Real greenies (i.e. nature conservationists) are natural allies of fishers (although many posting on this board may not believe it!) - as it is impacts to nature and ecosystems that ultimately pose the biggest threat to the sustainability of our fisheries. We should build bridges of support between all lovers of nature - fishers and greenies alike (can be the same people) if we want to have the political strength to diffuse the emotive based arguments of the urban based animal rights intelligensia.
Also I think it is wrong to go down the path of denying that fish feel pain. They are vertebrate animals with a developed nervous system and if you hurt them they'll feel it - but that is part of prey - predator reality and we shouldn't shy away from being proud predators - we've been doing it for a million years so why start denying pain is involved. Witness a eagle pulling the entrails out of a half alive rabbit - sure its feeling pain - but that doesn't intrinsically make the eagle bad??
As intelligent humansd we should seek to minimise the suffering our prey experience where ever possible but that should not go to the ridiculous extreme of giving up being predators - lets start claiming our hunting and fishing practices (and predatory nature) as part of our spiritual relationship with the earth (as long as we practice it sustainably - there should be no case to answer) - just as emotive stuff and the animal rights mob can come up with and they go and stuff themeselves as long as they don't gain the support of the majority - something they're more likely to do if we behave like ignorant (greenie hating) rednecks or reality denying ignoramasous - my opinion anyway!!
Regards Jim