Life in the ocean is far from a Disney movie: It’s time to give fish their freedom.
Young People Speak Out Against Animal Abuse
At the gala premiere of The Little Mermaid in May, a group of young activists, refusing to stay silent, gathered. With our bodies covered in symbolic blood and faces painted like fish, we formed a circle in front of Imperial in Copenhagen—protesting the brutal animal abuse, pollution, and climate damagethat takes place every year in massive net cages in Danish waters. We at Dyrenes Alliance demand justice for fish and the closure of Danish fish farms.
As people across Denmark head to theaters these days to watch Disney’s new version of The Little Mermaid, they’ll be captivated by the ocean’s beauty and magic. A wondrous underwater world with playful crabs, happy fish, and beautiful mermaids. But this couldn’t be further from the harsh reality faced by fish in Danish fish farms.
All Animals Deserve Proper Treatment
According to the Animal Welfare Act, Section 3, anyone keeping animals must ensure they are treated with care—including “being housed, fed, watered, and cared for in a way that respects their physiological, behavioral, and health needs.” This stands in stark contrast to the conditions fish endure in Danish fish farms.
Fish farming is essentially oceanic factory farming, where millions of fish are confined to large net cages in the sea. These individuals suffer severe abuse and are stripped of their basic rights. In Danish fish farms, fish are crowded together, stressed, diseased, and never free to swim. Their natural behaviors are suppressed in captivity, and their living conditions are nowhere near the idyllic life portrayed in Disney movies.
Did you know…
…discrimination based on species is called “speciesism”? Learn more about speciesism here.
Fish are often misunderstood and especially vulnerable to abuse because they look different from us—they have scales instead of skin and gills instead of lungs. Yet there is scientific consensus that fish, like cats, pigs, and humans, can feel joy, pain, and sorrow. Many fish live in complex social groups, form deep bonds, and experience pain and fear when harmed. They show affection by rubbing against each other and communicate with low-frequency sounds. These beings have just as much right to freedom and fundamental rights as any other living creature on this planet.
It Hurts More Than Just the Fish—it Harms Our Planet
Not only do we subject millions of fish to suffering and take away their freedom, fish farms have devastating environmental impacts. The 19 Danish fish farms release a toxic cocktail of chemicals into our seas. Tons of copper sulfate, antibiotics, and formalin pour directly into the water without any filtration—causing oxygen depletion, seabed destruction, and fish deaths. Politicians protect an industry that repeatedly breaks the law and treats the ocean like a dumping ground.
Closing fish farms aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 14, which commits to conserving and sustainably using the oceans by 2025, including preventing and significantly reducing pollution from marine debris and nutrient runoff. The ocean is Earth’s lungs, playing a crucial role in sequestering carbon on the ocean floor and absorbing about 30% of human-produced CO2. Fish farms disrupt these marine ecosystems and endanger these vital processes. Protecting the oceans is essential to mitigating climate change. If we want a just and sustainable future, it must be without fish farms.
Ocean life is far from a Disney tale. Instead of Sebastian the crab and Flounder the fish, Danish waters are rife with suffering. Let the magic of The Little Mermaid remind us of our responsibility to protect the ocean and its inhabitants. It’s time to give fish free fins. Let’s make waves together and spread the word to shut down Danish fish farms.
