Questions From Readers

● Must fish be bled before they are eaten?​—U.S.A.

The Bible does not specifically mention the bleeding of fish. Only in the case of land animals or fowl do we read: “As for any man . . . who in hunting catches a wild beast or a fowl that may be eaten, he must in that case pour its blood out and cover it with dust.”​—Lev. 17:13.

Fish that were suitable for food according to the terms of the Mosaic law did not contain a quantity of blood sufficient to be poured out and covered with dust. Evidently for this reason the Law set forth no precise statement about bleeding fish.

There being no Scriptural stipulation to squeeze or soak meat to remove blood, no one is under obligation to take extreme measures to extract blood from fish. Of course, the blood of every sort of creature represents its life and is therefore sacred. So, if, on cutting a fish open, a person sees an accumulation of blood, he should remove it.