Punished because the fish went bad (9)

I believe the answer is:

garrotted

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'punished because' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'fish went bad' is the wordplay.
'fish' becomes 'gar' (type of gar).
'went bad' becomes 'rotted' (I've seen this in another clue).
'gar'+'rotted'='GARROTTED'

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for garrotted that I've seen is " killed".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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