It survives partly because of the misconception that fish don't feel pain. While fish do not express pain and suffering in ways that humans easily recognize, they do gasp and struggle when caught. Moreover, fish have been known to go out of their way, and even risk their own lives, to aid others in trouble. Scientific reports from around the world substantiate the fact that fish feel pain. Without the ability to feel pain, they would not be able to survive.
Hooked fish struggle out of fear and physical pain.
Once fish are brought out of their environment and into ours, they begin to suffocate. Often their gills collapse and the swim bladder can rupture due to the sudden change in pressure on their bodies. What had happened was, earlier in that fish's life, a hook had been lost by a fisherman and had embedded itself in the fish's lip. As the fish had grown, the lip had actually grown over the hook. The fish was actually pulled out by the gut.