Consciouness and fish

Attended a talk about consciousness.

The speaker shared about consciousness and drew a conclusion (based on his research) that fish does not have consciousness.

Well, from a scientific viewpoint, if their nerve circuitary is vastly different from humans, I can understand where that came from. Yet I find it hard to accept that they do not suffer when they are killed simply because they do not have e capacity to feel pain.

Yes, they might not feel pain but does that make them any less? Is it really conclusive that they do not have consciousness? Maybe their level of consciousness is underdeveloped; who's to know. Or maybe their equivalent of consciousness is something totally different.

I find it unfair to comment (based on level of consciouness) that fish can be eaten vs other more social animals like pigs.

In all fairness, e speaker did say that he is vegetarian and doesn't eat fish.
Just fyi fish is meat too. White meat.

And whether or not fish has consciousness, i still maintain that it is cruel to eat them.

Actually, there is no real end to this argument, because one has to draw the line somewhere, as we still need sustenance to survive. And no matter what we eat, there is still life (to different degrees and nature)!