I like to search for FACTS. I had proposed a theory in the 1980s and we (at a Church Meeting, three of us) discussed this very idea (before the Internet) about an ECONOMIC Reason for eating Fish on Fridays by Catholics. I proposed this very theory.
BUT I was WRONG:
The myth of the fish-promoting pope
Among the false reasons often given is a story that claims a medieval pope made it mandatory to eat fish on Fridays in an attempt to boost the Italian fishing industry. However, scholars have found no historical evidence to support this theory. Tellingly, the name of this alleged fish-promoting pontiff has never been supplied. Moreover, the tradition of fasting and abstinence dates to the 1st century ce, not the Middle Ages.
(..., actually before the ABOVE entry)
Several theories have been proposed. Scholars note that the code’s original Latin uses the term carnis, which is interpreted as meat from warm-blooded animals or from animals that walk on the ground. Therefore, the flesh of cold-blooded animals or those that live in water is acceptable to eat. In the 15th century Augustinian priest John Mirk claimed that this distinction stems from the biblical story of the Fall of Humankind and original sin: In response to Adam and Eve’s transgression in the Garden of Eden, God cursed the earth and land but not the water.
Another theory notes that on the sixth day of Creation (i.e., Friday) God created livestock. By abstaining from eating such animals as pigs, sheep, chickens, and cows on this day (thus, sparing those animals’ lives), Catholics are imitating Christ by practicing an act of mercy and making a spiritual sacrifice. In addition, Friday was the day of Christ’s death, which is solemnly observed as Good Friday in the Christian calendar.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Why-Do ... on-Fridays
and
The practice of eating fish is related to the day we typically abstain from meat: Friday. This is the day that Christ died, so abstaining from the shedding (and consuming) of blood seems appropriate. Friday, the sixth day, was also the day that God created animals, so abstaining from meat is a symbolic “stay of execution” for cows, pigs, and sheep—just as the cross saves us from eternal death.
The Hebrew scriptures also tell of Leviathan, a primordial gigantic enigmatic sea-creature (think Jonah’s whale) that represents death. So carving up and eating Leviathan on the day that Christ killed death makes great sense to the biblical imagination. Because of Christ’s victory, the great monster death is now nothing more than fish sticks on your plate! Think of that next time you skip that Friday hamburger for a tuna fish sandwich.
htt[url]ps://uscatholic.org/articles/202004/why-do-catholics-eat-fish-on-friday/[/url]
MORE:
Second, we should note that we are not required to eat fish on Fridays; we are to abstain from meat. In the Latin, we are told to abstain from carnis, which from the most ancient of times has always meant the meat of things that walk on the ground. This practice seems to date from as early as the first century.
There are many people – even today – who claim Catholics eat fish on Fridays because one of the medieval Popes wanted to help support the fishmongers, a claim that is quite false. There is, however, some semblance of history to this claim, but about the Church of England and not about the Catholic Church. In 1563, Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of King Henry VIII mandated fasting from meat on Wednesdays specifically to support the fishing industry.
Catholics eat fish on Fridays because they cannot eat meat (and, apparently do not want to eat a meal of only grains, fruits, or vegetables).
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon an intriguing explanation as to why we eat fish on Fridays but not meat. The explanation comes from the fifteenth century, from one John Myre in his Liber Festivalis: “For when God, for Adam’s sin, cursed the earth and the land, he cursed not the water; wherefore it is lawful for a man to eat in Lent that which cometh of the water.” To put it differently, we eat fish as a reminder of God’s mercy. Ponder that, and try that answer the next time someone asks you about your fish sandwich.
https://dio.org/catholic-times/hey-fath ... his-start/