Watching fish swim around in their natural habitat can be a wondrous and peaceful experience. From the tinniest 1-inch, Paedocypris progenetica, to the largest whale shark, over 30ft long, each of these creatures possesses awe-inspiring attributes. Our selection of fish quotes talks about such unique attributes, including camouflage, electroreception, and communication abilities that make them truly fascinating.
Unfortunately, humans mostly think fish only serve a purpose when dead on a plate.
In reality, fishes are vital in ways we don’t fully understand yet. To start, they play an important role in eco-diversity. From freshwater or seawater, fishes serve as a food source and also provide nutrients needed by bottom-level species that support the ecosystem.
These creatures, however, are in grave danger of extinction in light of climate change, overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. Global warming is causing an increase in water temperature, which results in less oxygen for fish. Environmentalists all over the world insist that the current fishing system is unsustainable. There is also the issue of water pollution, tons of non-biodegradable waste is being dumped into water bodies daily all over the world.
In this article, we look at several quotes to remind us that we all have a role to play in protecting fish from the consequences of human activity.
Related: You might also like our article on the world's ugliest animals (which we love), 15 cute axolotl facts, and we cover the different types of sharks and jellyfish species for more life below the ocean.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Born in Spain, Moses Ben Maimon, called Maimonides was a famous Jewish Torah scholar. He was a respected philosopher and also a prominent astronomer and physician. He published several books amongst which is the revered “Minseh Torah”.
The humble fish is the instrument of analogy in this timeless quote by Maimonides. For ages, many have used this fish quote to stress the importance of learning and teaching self-reliance. It encourages those who are dependent to seek knowledge that would enable them to become independent and also advises those who are experts in any particular field not to selfishly hoard knowledge.
When you see a fish you don't think of its scales, do you? You think of its speed, its floating, flashing body seen through the water... If I made fins and eyes and scales, I would arrest its movement, give a pattern or shape of reality. I want just the flash of its spirit.
Romanian sculptor, painter and photographer, Constantin Brancusi is one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century. Many know Brancusi as the patriarch of modern sculpture. He died in 1957 leaving behind unique sculptures like the infinity pillar, the kiss and many others.
We often believe artists to be closer to nature, as they connect more to the aesthetic and metaphysical than most people. In Brancisu’s quote, he tries to capture the artistic beauty, form and grace of fish in the ocean.
I want everybody to go jump in the ocean to see for themselves how beautiful it is, how important it is to get acquainted with fish swimming in the ocean, rather than just swimming with lemon slices and butter.
Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist, explorer, author and lecturer who has made a name for herself as the first female Chief Scientist of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. She has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998.
If anyone can tell us just how fantastic life under the ocean is, it would be Earle. This fish quote inspires us to see the fishes as more than just food; they're a wonder of nature. With their colourful variationsand unique traits, they make our water bodies even more precious.
No pills, not even aspirin, and certainly no supplements ever enter my mouth - everything I need comes from my fish and vegetarian diet, which incorporates many different kinds of fruit and vegetables every week.
An American businessman, billionaire and philanthropist, David Murdock is the Chairman and CEO of Dole Food Company. In his advocacy for healthy living, he established the Dole Nutrition Institute to promote the benefits of a plant-based diet to promote good health. Working with UCLA, he oversaw the writing of the Encyclopedia of Foods, A Guide to Healthy Nutrition.
Everyone would love to live a long and healthy life. And decades worth of research on nutrition teaches us that our diet plays a huge role in the quality of life lived. This quote serves to reiterate the fact that a fish diet offers numerous health benefits.
If we wipe out the fish, the oceans are going to die. If the oceans die, we die. We can't live on this planet with a dead ocean.
Paul Watson is a Canadian-American marine wildlife conservation and environmental activist. He founded the Sea Shepherd Society, an organization that seeks to protect marine wildlife, in 1977. He has employed radical protest strategies in the past and won many awards to his credit.
This quote opens our eyes to see that a large body of water with no aquatic life is dead. It’s the fish in the rivers, lakes, ponds and oceans that make them what they are.
I think humans have to learn a new way of dwelling on this earth. A way of living with their companions: animals, plants and fish.
Scottish writer and award-winning poet, John Burnside (amazon), is one of the three authors who have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book. He has authored fourteen collections of poetry and eleven works of fiction.
John Burnside’s quote adjures us to be more cautious, more humane in our interactions with other living things in the environment. This is a call for humans to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle in production, consumption and waste management.
What is a fish without a river? What is a bird without a tree to nest in? What is an Endangered Species Act without any enforcement mechanism to ensure their habitat is protected? It is nothing.
Jay Inslee is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the governor of Washington D.C. since 2013. Before becoming governor, he was a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1989 to 1993. As a governor, he promotes climate change awareness, education and drug policy reform.
The quote above reminds us that rules don’t work unless people do. It is the duty of every agency set up to protect marine wildlife to make sure that they Enforce rules by actually giving sanctions and punishment to offenders.
Seventy percent of the fish we eat is black market, fished in violation of international laws. Our ignorance makes us unwilling partners in crime. Rogue economics is turning the global market into our worst nightmare.
Loretta Napoleoni is an Italian journalist, economist and political analyst. She is the bestselling author of “Terror Incorporated” (amazon). She belongs to the scientific committee of the “Fundación Ideas para el Progreso”, which many believe to be the think tank of Spain's Socialist Party.
This fish quote exposes the real price of being ignorant of how the fish we eat is sourced. We will be guilty of hypocrisy to advocate online for sustainable fishing and have no idea if fishers caught the fish in our plate through illegal or cruel means.
We are being choked to death by the amount of plastic that we throw away. It's killing our oceans. It's entering into our bodies in the fish we eat.
Kevin Bacon is a famous American actor and musician. Some of his earliest movies include Footloose and Apollo 13 (both on amazon). He was awarded a star on the much-coveted Hollywood Walk of Fame. He and his brother form a band and have released over 50 albums.
What goes around does indeed come back around. The above fish quote reminds us that our mistreatment of fishes and their habitats has a way of getting back to us in terrible ways.
The ocean is the lifeblood of our world. If we were to lose our fish that we appreciate so much by overfishing; or if we were to lose some of our favorite beaches to overbuilding and pollution, then how would we feel? It's become a case of not knowing what you've got until it's gone.
Famous American swimmer, multiple gold medalist and three-time Olympian with a world record in the men’s 4*100 meter medley relay, Aaron Peirsol was an outstanding sportsman before retiring in 2011.
At the current rate of ocean pollution, we could eventually wake up one morning to hear that all the fish are gone. And all that's left in the ocean is plastic and chemical waste. This particular quote reminds us of all the precious things that we stand to lose if we do not take timely action. It entreats us to discontinue our careless attitude towards the fate of the fish before it's too late.
Man can now fly in the air like a bird, swim under the ocean like a fish, he can burrow into the ground like a mole. Now if only he could walk the earth like a man, this would be paradise.
Tommy Douglas was a Canadian Baptist minister who became a social politician. Many know Douglas for his efforts in establishing policies that favoured the common people. He instituted free healthcare, two weeks paid vacation for workers, minimum wage amongst others, first in his home state and later in the federal government. He was voted greatest Canadian of all times in 2004 on a televised contest.
Humans must take care of the planet, not exploit it to the point of destruction. Nature is for man's enjoyment and if he wishes to continue enjoying then he must realize that his role is to be the protector of the environment.
These fish quotes inspire us to see fish as more than just food. They present the beauty and importance of fish and encourage each person to play their role in protecting them. Above their relevance to biodiversity and humans, fishes are alive, just as we are, and deserve to live a good life.
I'd rather be a big fish in a specialized pond than a little, little fish in a more generalized big pond.
The shark is the apex predator in the sea. Sharks have molded evolution for 450 million years. All fish species that are prey to the sharks have had their behavior, their speed, their camouflage, their defense mechanisms molded by the shark.
Dead fish don't swim around in jealous tides.
If we keep on destroying fish, there won't be any left. If the oceans die, we all die. It's as simple as that.
Don't be a fish; be a frog. Swim in the water and jump when you hit ground.
Every fish fertilizes the water in a way that generates the plankton that ultimately leads back into the food chain, but also yields oxygen, grabs carbon - it's a part of what makes the ocean function and what makes the planet function.
I am an ocean lover and fish watcher and had studied marine biology and even taught marine sciences before I got into animation.
Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica. There are a few oysters in Chesapeake Bay. Half the coral reefs are still in pretty good shape, a jeweled belt around the middle of the planet. There's still time, but not a lot, to turn things around.
Chance is always powerful. Let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be fish.
I just learned how to scuba dive. I'd been scared to rely on one little air hose for oxygen, but swimming with all those fish is exhilarating.
Beyond individual intelligence, nature has also cultivated intelligence through swarms. For example, bees, birds and fish act in a more intelligent way when acting together as a swarm, flock or school.
There is hardly a place on Earth where people do not log, pave, spray, drain, flood, graze, fish, plow, burn, drill, spill or dump. There is no life zone, with the possible exception of the deep ocean, that we are not degrading.
If you give a person a fish, they'll fish for a day. But if you train a person to fish, they'll fish for a lifetime.
You can be a big fish in a small pond, but you're only going to be competing against people at that level.
I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge?
Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.
I've always wanted to be able to hold my breath for like, ever, and swim in the water like a fish.
If we don't preserve the oceans from nitrate runoff and plastic and chemicals, and if we don't preserve it from acidification, and if we don't preserve it from grotesque overfishing - too much money chasing too few fish - we're going to have the most massive ecosystem on the planet in peril.
The city needs a car like a fish needs a bicycle.
Let your hook be always cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be fish.
I can stand in a crystal stream without another human around me and cast all day long, and if I never catch a single fish, I can come home and still feel like I had a wonderful time. It's the being there that's important.
The one thing that a fish can never find is water; and the one thing that man can never find is God.
I love the water. Everything about it. Smelling the humidity in the air, seeing the mist rise in the morning, feeling the dew-wet grass on my bare feet. I love watching the fish jump and the geese land. We even have an eagle here that circles every so often.
The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea.
Listen to the fish, who through their actions all but utter this word: 'We set out on this long journey for the perpetuation of our species.'
I prefer being a small fish in a big pond.
Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish.
No human being, however great, or powerful, was ever so free as a fish.
Just as it takes time for a speck of fish spawn to develop into a fully grown fish, so, too, we need time for everything that develops and crystallizes in the world of ideas. Architecture demands more of this time than other creative work.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
I love all animals. I have a fascination with fish, birds, whales - sentient life - insects, reptiles.
A fish may love a bird, but where would they live?
All living things come hardwired with certain traits and characteristics that are part of our nature, meaning that these things come naturally to us: they're what we're meant to do, and they're how universal intelligence flows though us best. Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, etc.
80 percent of our global fish stocks are fully exploited, overly exploited or have collapsed. Two billion people rely on the oceans for their primary source of protein.
Why are fish unsustainable? Because they're popular. What makes restaurants work? Popular dishes that people come back for.
Wild fish are under threat of extinction because they're hunted to feed us. Yet land animals that we farm are under no threat of extinction. Shifting from hunting fish to farming fish - where the farmers have the incentive to keep their stocks healthy - could do a tremendous amount of good for wild fish.
When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.
Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath.
The concept of 'peak oil' has penetrated the hearts and minds of people concerned about energy for the future. 'Peak fish' occurred around the end of the 1980s.
I lead a simple life. I feed the fish. I walk the dogs. I cook dinner. Occasionally I take a meeting.
When fish experience something that would cause other animals physical pain, they behave in ways suggestive of pain, and the change in behaviour may last several hours.
People still do not understand that a live fish is more valuable than a dead one, and that destructive fishing techniques are taking a wrecking ball to biodiversity.
Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, and then it is disgusting.
Would the fish have ever been caught if it had kept its mouth shut?
People eat the chicken, people eat the beef, they still say, 'Don't kill the fish.'
Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.
Don't eat shrimp - it's one of the most unsustainable fish. For every pound that's caught, 10 or 20 pounds of other stuff is killed and dumped back overboard. It's the number one killer of juvenile sea turtles in Mexico.
You know how fighting fish do it? They blow bubbles and in each one of those bubbles is an egg and they float the egg up to the surface. They keep this whole heavy nest of eggs floating, and they're constantly repairing it. It's as if they live in both elements.
Fish are a renewable resource, and one of the problems we've had is people feel obliged to catch the limit, then throw 'em in the garbage can.
An Asian way of eating and living may help prevent and even reverse the progression of coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, prostate cancer and breast cancer. Incorporate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy products and fish in your diet. Eat at home more with your family and friends.
There is nothing so beautiful as the free forest. To catch a fish when you are hungry, cut the boughs of a tree, make a fire to roast it, and eat it in the open air, is the greatest of all luxuries. I would not stay a week pent up in cities if it were not for my passion for art.
As a rough rule of thumb, I would say the smaller the pond, the more belligerent the fish.
Whenever the lion fish in the fish tank in the captain's ready room died it was always a sad moment.
Cheap fish has usually been caught in careless ways.
The industrial way we fish for seafood is harming the marine habitats that all ocean life depends upon. Indiscriminate commercial fishing practices that include miles of driftnets, long lines with thousands of lethal hooks and bottom trawls are ruining ocean ecosystems by killing non-seafood species, including sea turtles and marine mammals.
A fish is more valuable swimming in the sea maintaining the integrity of oceanic eco-systems than it is on anyone's plate.
If you help a chicken out of an egg, most of the time that bird will die. If you help a moth out of a cocoon, it'll die because they don't go through that struggle and maturation. I can give you a fish for the day and you'll eat a day, but if I teach you to fish, you'll eat for a lifetime. Maybe even start a business.
I like being a big fish in a small pond. I'm not interested in a huge audience because it brings headaches.
We need to learn how to capture and kill wild fish humanely - or, if that is not possible, to find less cruel and more sustainable alternatives to eating them.
There's a great metaphor that one of my doctors uses: If a fish is swimming in a dirty tank and it gets sick, do you take it to the vet and amputate the fin? No, you clean the water. So, I cleaned up my system. By eating organic raw greens, nuts and healthy fats, I am flooding my body with enzymes, vitamins and oxygen.
Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.
Wherever the fish are, that's where we go.
Nobody can legitimately claim to be a marine ecologist and conservationist while continuing to eat fish. It is the ultimate form of hypocrisy.
A few years ago, the city council of Monza, Italy, barred pet owners from keeping goldfish in curved bowls... saying that it is cruel to keep a fish in a bowl with curved sides because, gazing out, the fish would have a distorted view of reality. But how do we know we have the true, undistorted picture of reality?
Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.
People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into an animal stupor that gapes at existence and they think they have seen something.
Being a fish out of water is tough, but that's how you evolve.
All men are equal before fish.
If you want to maintain a sustainable supply of fish you have to farm the fish, rather than mine them. So putting your money into fishing fleets that are going to exacerbate the problem by over-fishing is not the way to preserve the underlying asset.
Fish recognize a bad leader.
There is no humane slaughter requirement for wild fish caught and killed at sea, nor, in most places, for farmed fish.
Reason is a supple nymph, and slippery as a fish by nature. She had as leave give her kiss to an absurdity any day, as to syllogistic truth. The absurdity may turn out truer.
No good fish goes anywhere without a porpoise.
Jen’s a passionate environmentalist and sustainability expert. With a science degree from Babcock University Jen loves applying her research skills to craft editorial that connects with our global changemaker and readership audiences centered around topics including zero waste, sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity.
Elsewhere Jen’s interests include the role that future technology and data have in helping us solve some of the planet’s biggest challenges.
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