I get that this seems to have been, at least for a time, a heated debate, and that you do not want a killing game, but rather a survival game that keeps the player vulnerable and cautious. However as is the predator attacks are just a gear-check. Nearly impossible to avoid and completely halts the game in it’s tracks, in an unfun way.
BUT! I think I have the solution
I would like to bring attention to my favorite horror game: Amnesia The Bunker.
Similarly in play style, Amnesia The Bunker is a survival game based around keeping the player vulnerable at all times, forcing them to stay cautious and manage their resources carefully. However, amnesia gives the player 2 weapons: A shotgun and a revolver.
The catch? Neither weapon kills the monster.
In Amnesia the weapons only serve as a way to get a quick breather, a way out when you’re cornered and the monster is bound to catch you. You can hurt the monster, sending it into a temporary retreat, but you cannot kill it. In fact using the gun to hurt the monster increases it’s agro, thus increasing the likelihood that it will come after you again, and the agro level does not decrease.
I suggest a similar mechanic for Subnautica 2.
When I’m attached, especially by the much bigger fish that can keep you from moving, my instinct is to immediately start smacking it with the hatchet. Make this do something. Allow the player to hurt the fish until it retreats, giving them a chance to escape, however keeping the predator in action, and at least for a short time, easier to agro again.
This gives the player a way to push back just enough to catch a break, but one that they need to use sparingly and not abuse, or else it could make the situation far worse.
There’s no need to add attacking for smaller fish, since you don’t need to kill them for hunting.
This way “combat” is something that is rare, that players do not want to seek out doing, avoids killing, but still gives them the ability to defend themselves when they absolutely have to.