AquaBounty Technologies applied to the FDA for formal approval of their transgenic salmon, AquAdvantage Salmon, in 1995. It is now 2013 and they are still waiting to hear the verdict. So what exactly are these transgenic salmon and why are they not available on the market even after eighteen years of waiting?
AquAdvantage fish are genetically modified Atlantic Salmon that grow much faster than their unaltered brethren. Usually, Atlantic Salmon only grow in the summer, when the warm waters trigger the production of growth hormones. Scientists at AquaBounty, however, found a way to promote the production of these hormones no matter what the season. They located a promoter, a sequence of regulatory DNA, in ocean pout (an electric eel-like fish that thrives in icy waters) that is turned on in cold temperatures.
Read the full, original story here: “Something Smells Fishy- Overcoming Misconceptions about GMO’s”
Additional Resources:
- “Grocers Won’t Sell Altered Fish, Groups Say,” New York Times
- “Frankenfish: Is GM Salmon a Vital Part of Our Future?” TIME Magazine
