Monday, February 14, 2011

Some fishy genetic modification

Memorial University professors have made a scientific breakthrough by researching and developing AquAdvantage salmon. These fish, the product of research done by professors and researchers Garth Fletcher and Choy Hew of the Ocean Sciences Centre, grow at a rate twice that of regular salmon. It has been promoted by its supporters as a candidate for improving the efficiency and economic viability of fish farms across the globe.

In September 2010, the FDA pronounced that salmon hatched from AquAdvantage eggs were safe to eat. The company that holds the rights to the fish, AquaBounty Technologies, is now seeking final approval from the US regulatory body to sell the fish in American markets. The prospect of genetically modified salmon showing up on American dinner plates has prompted concerns from a variety of critics in the United States, as well as in Canada.

Legislation that would ban genetically modified salmon was recently introduced by Alaskan senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski. A similar bill, requiring the labelling of all types of genetically modified fish, has also been formally proposed both federally and in multiple state legislatures. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers.

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