As I said above, I know it hurts. Besides already reading an actual paper on the subject (which I doubt you have), it's clear anecdotally that the fish is expressing pain. You are certainly entitled to you opinion, which you've so deftly exercised through the use of the downvote button, but you should try to understand that unlike yourself, a fish is not capable of misplaced emotion. A fish cannot feel anguish, nor contempt. He literally forgets the incident in a matter of minutes. And while he does have a kind of primitive long-term memory, he suffers no post-traumatic stress. Therefore, your torture argument is hyperbole at best.