If genetically-modified salmon escape containment they can breed with non-GM fish of other, close species and produce a new fish carrying the modified gene, a study has found. In a study at Memorial University in the eastern province of Newfoundland, undergraduate student Krista Oke used a salmon genetically modified for faster growth and eventual human consumption.
Many studies have examined what happens if GM fish escape into the wild. This study looked at the possibility of them mating with other species and what might happen next.
Oke bred the GM salmon with a wild brown trout in controlled conditions resembling the wild. The resulting hybrids grew faster than the GM salmon and other non-GM hybrids. They also survived well enough to out-compete the genetically modified and non-genetically modified salmon for food.
In addition, the growth rate of the wild salmon and the GM salmon were significantly lower when the transgenic hybrids were nearby.
“(The result) suggests that extra vigilance might be required when we’re producing GM species in areas where they may come into contact with closely related species,” said Oke.
AquaBounty is a company which proposes to produce GM salmon eggs at its farm in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island. It would raise the fish to market size and process them in Panama. Oke notes the company has good containment measures and there is little chance its fish could escape.
However as aquaculture increases she says there will be a need to ensure companies are very careful to not allow GM fish to escape and interbreed with other species in the wild.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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