“There is just too much at risk here. The public has expressed serious concerns about the introduction of Frankenfish into the nation’s food supply including potential threats to the environment and public health, and economic impacts on producers of sustainable wild salmon,” said Begich, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard. “There are concerns about the transparency of the FDA’s review process and whether the consumer’s ‘right to know’ is being ignored. Some, frankly, just aren’t comfortable with the idea the government thinks it can improve on nature by genetically altering Alaska wild salmon.”

“The Frankenfish issue still has far more questions than answers, starting with the FDA’s process for approving an animal product intended for human consumption is considered by some to be insufficient. The tests have come under attack from scientific groups, including the FDA’s own Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee,” said Murkowski, Chair of the Oceans Caucus and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “More alarming is the fact that data analyzed by the FDA looked only at salmon grown at a Canada facility when these Frankenfish will be produced at a Panama facility. In addition, the FDA has not taken into account the full economic impacts that the approval of engineered fish will have – especially for a state with robust fisheries like Alaska.”

Begich’s bill would make it unlawful to “ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, or purchase genetically altered salmon or other marine fish, or a product containing genetically altered salmon or other marine fish, in interstate or foreign commerce.”

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