Gwen simply ignores them as she works. Killing the fish creates the most difficult moment in fishing. It is a living creature and the animal does feel pain. We try to kill it quickly. Over the years we have tried rocks hammered on the brain, and a killing mallet.
Some people put their fingers in the fish's mouth and snap back the neck.
We've never found that to work. Gwen stabbed through the skull to kill her prize. But she says that it took her a couple of stabs. Even after the head is cut off, the heart of the fish will continue beating for awhile, a good biology lesson. It is more humane than the fish farming method used to harvest herring.