We pride ourselves at AddictionNews for covering some very unusual cases of addiction. We have researched xylophagia — an addiction to eating paper — and witzelsucht — an addiction to telling inappropriate jokes.

So it is with great interest we learned this week about opsophagos — an addiction to eating fish. Amelia Soth, who writes the column “Cabinet of Curiosities” for JSTOR Daily, went back to ancient Greece for the history of this malady:

An opsophagos, then, is a fish addict — someone whose desire for seafood becomes a self-destructive obsession.

Soth cites the article, “Fish, Sex and Revolution in Athens,” which reveals an obsession with the preparation and consumption of fish in the works of the ancient greeks. 

Soth points out that fresh fish was expensive and purchase or consumption of it was a sign of status. The opsophagos was a person who couldn’t contain their gluttony of fish even if it ruined them financially. Socrates himself cautioned readers to watch out for the dinner guest who consumes all the fish.

Accusations of being an opsophagos made their way into trials, where it was considered a sign of debauchery or extravagance and a charge leveled against persons eating beyond their means. The fish addict was known to burn their fingers, grabbing fish from the pan or the fire, burning their mouths and throats swallowing sizzling bits of fish.

Another way a person could theoretically become addicted to eating fish is by eating drug-addicted fish. The BBC reports on a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology that found methamphetamine in brown trout in the Czech Republic, and a tendency for the “addicted fish” to hang out at sewage treatment facilities.

There is yet another form of fish addiction, and it’s something we can even encourage here at AddictionNews. And that is an addiction to fishing. The scholarly research doesn’t have anything to say about “fish addiction,” but there is a surprising amount of research on “fishing addiction.”

An article in the Archives of Behavioral Addictions states the following:

A review of the relevant literature both in academic journals and more populist literature suggest fishing addiction may theoretically exist.

The researchers concluded that fishing, when taken to excessive levels, does result in symptoms that are similar to gambling addiction and substance use disorders. It can cause “withdrawal symptoms, conflict with job and/or relationships, relapse, and tolerance.”

The similarity between fishing addiction and gambling addiction indicates that fishing could be therapeutic for people recovering from other disorders. We know that substituting new hobbies for old habits is a tried and true way of coping with urges and avoiding cues. I’m looking forward to seeing studies on fishing vacations as a new way to detox — just don’t burn your fingers.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published February 11, 2025.

Sources:

“Fish Addiction: An Ancient Greek Paranoia,” JSTOR Daily, January 30, 2025.

“Fish, Sex and Revolution in Athens,” The Classical Quarterly, February 11, 2009.

“Why fish are becoming addicted to illegal drugs,” BBC, July 18, 2021.

“Becoming hooked? Angling, gambling, and ‘fishing addiction’, Archives of Behavioral Addictions, February 2019.

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