Even better is to not put them there. How sadistic is it to rip the palate and mouth of a fish just for fun and put it back in the water?

Humans are full of cruelty, upon ourselves and other species

"Recreational" fishing is just another one of our barbarisms

I see what you did there (etymologically)

Not etymologically related, just homophones; barb (from French) and barbarian (from Greek) have distinct roots.

Unfortunately, I imagine that procedure would significantly increase the probability of mortality, if not directly kill the fish.

They should have tried to communicate with it, learned its ways, and adopted its people

"I should like to teach you the dance of my people" is from the Kikuyu fairy tale "The Warrior And The Irimũ".