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On the plus side, there's a chance they'll choke on a bone, so you won't have to exert yourself by strangling them
NotThamesWater-
They're far too well practiced at eating bone riddled food here. The ones that can't die young.
I always just remove the head and fins, then pinch chopsticks at the top and lightly run them down the spine. Fish falls right off in chunks and your left with a neat spine to tail carcass.
But this is a point where shellfish really comes into its own. No bones.
HHC
In all seriousness, it has started to bug me when people make a mess of a shared whole fish dish (I'm in china and they seem to often do such dishes).
Having a grasp on basic fish anatomy is really key in these situations and you simply cannot afford to be ripping meat and ribs off of the spine.