It has been revealed that a US company with an experimental operation in Canada, has asked for Canadian approval to sell its genetically-modified salmon for human consumption.
The information was discovered in Aqua Bounty Technology’s latest financial outlook.
Based in Canada’s east-coast province of Prince Edward Island, the US biotech company has created genetically-modified salmon which grow twice as fast as natural salmon by adding genes from a faster growing Chinook salmon and a deep water eel-like fish called an ocean pout.
Environmental groups were surprised that no such information about the company’s intentions to market the GM salmon for consumption came from Canadian government agencies.
A statement released this week by the environmental group, Canadian Biotechnology Network reads, ““This would be the first GM food animal in the world, but Health Canada refused to confirm or deny that they were spending taxpayers money evaluating this GM fish.”
Late last year Environment Canada gave the green light for commercial-scale production of the GM eggs, as long as certain requirements were met. At the time, the company said the eggs would be exported to Panama to be grown to full-size.
Environmental groups however launched a court action against that permission, saying the approval is unlawful because it failed to assess whether genetically modified salmon could become invasive, potentially putting ecosystems and species such as wild salmon at risk.
“Canadians expect their government to implement, not ignore, the laws that protect our ecosystems from harm,” said Tanya Nayler, one of the Ecojustice lawyers representing Ecology Action Centre and Living Oceans Society. “By granting approval for this genetically modified species without obtaining all the legally required information, the government has failed to meet their legal obligation.”
Karen Wristen, Executive Director of the Living Oceans Society in B.C. says another concern is what they say is a lack of transparency and public consultation in the decision-making and approval process
“This is the world’s first genetically modified food animal to go into production,” Wristen said. “This was done without any public debate at all and under circumstances that look like a deliberate attempt to prevent public comment. Canadians have a right to know about decisions like this in advance of them being made.”
The environmental groups challenge to the approval for commercial production of GM salmons is still wending its way through the court system, and was issued prior to this latest revelation of the biotech company’s request to market the fish for human consumption.
At the same time, Aqua Bounty continues to wait for an answer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as to whether it will be allowed to sell its salmon as food in that country — a request made 19 years ago.
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