Canada’s aquaculture industry postion on Genetically modified salmon
CAIA, September 10, 2010
On behalf of Canada’s aquaculture industry, which includes salmon farmers on both coasts, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance would like to state its position on the matter:
- The Canadian aquaculture industry does not support the commercial production of transgenic fish for human consumption.
- The Canadian aquaculture industry is not researching or growing transgenic fish.
- Canada’s current fish breeding practices enable the production of quality products that are in high demand from both domestic and international markets.
Our position is consistent with that of the International Salmon Farmer’s Association and will not change until the transgenic fish has been declared safe by all relevant regulatory bodies AND until the market demands it.
Despite the Policy of Canadian salmon farmers being made very clear, stories like the one below choose to ignore it.
Male GM salmon can breed with wild species, researchers find
By Beatrice Fantoni, Postmedia News July 14, 2011
Concerns of cross-contamination between genetically modified and non-GM foods are no longer reserved for crop farmers. Canadian researchers have found that transgenic Atlantic salmon can pass their genes on to wild salmon if they escape into the wild.
"It is possible for the genetic modification to enter wild populations through natural sexual reproduction," Darek Moreau, a researcher in evolutionary ecology at Memorial University in St. John's told Postmedia News.
Moreau and his colleagues monitored the breeding behaviour of wild and transgenic male Atlantic salmon in a lab setting over two years. They found that wild male salmon were more successful at breeding, but the genetically modified males still managed to spawn naturally even if they tended to show less interest in female salmon and bred less frequently.
The resulting ecological and genetic effects are still uncertain, he said, but the findings underscore the importance of keeping transgenic salmon — which is currently not farmed for human consumption — from escaping into the wild to ensure they do not breed with wild salmon that are well adapted to their natural environment.
"Much more data is required due to the complex interactions these animals may have with natural populations and the environment," Moreau said.
The research was published in the July online edition of the journal Evolutionary Applications.
Genetically modified Atlantic salmon is among the first species of GM fish to be considered for commercial farming in North America and Europe, Moreau said, but not much is known about the potential impact on wild salmon populations if a transgenic species escapes captivity.
Moreau said the study is the first to empirically observe the breeding performance of genetically modified Atlantic salmon that contain the same gene as AquAdvantage salmon, a transgenic fish being developed by AquaBounty Technologies Inc.
Earlier this year, federal scientists in Canada suggested there was a risk of contaminating Canada's fish stocks if genetically modified salmon were introduced into the wild.
Internal records obtained by Postmedia News in February indicate senior scientists in biotechnology and aquaculture from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were concerned about "limited" and possibly "constrained" regulatory powers around the approvals for AquAdvantage salmon.
AquaBounty cleared an important hurdle in August 2010, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's preliminary analysis concluded that its salmon, modified in Atlantic Canada to grow twice as fast as normal fish, are safe to eat and not expected to have a significant impact on the environment.
At the time, Ronald Stotish, CEO of AquaBounty, said concerns about contamination are unfounded, arguing it's actually safer than traditional aquaculture because AquaBounty's genetically engineered salmon are female and sterile. They would be bred in confined pools where the potential for escape would be very low.
Matthew Abbott, the co-ordinator of Fundy Baykeeper conservation group in Saint Andrews, N.B., said it is common for farmed Atlantic salmon to escape ocean-based farming pens. It is not likely a fish can escape an inland farm, he said, but if transgenic Atlantic salmon were approved for production in Canada, he would not be surprised if producers would eventually begin farming it in open nets in the ocean where escapes are almost inevitable.
According to the website of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, escapes from fish farms are "infrequent." The government agency also states that more research is required to understand how non-GM farmed Atlantic salmon could affect wild salmon.
The AquAdvantage salmon contain a growth hormone gene from the Chinook salmon and a genetic on-switch from ocean pout, an eel-like species present in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the continuous production of the hormone.
The GM salmon grow to market size in 16 to 18 months instead of the three years it takes wild salmon, but do not grow any bigger than conventional salmon.
