Saving Seafood

AquaBounty sends GE salmon samples to customers ahead of first commercial harvest

February 24, 2021 — As AquaBounty nears the first harvest of its genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon, the company has started sending samples to its first customers this week for a final quality check before orders are finalized.

Seafood experts working with about 10 retail and foodservice companies looking to be the first to carry AquAdvantage salmon will be checking the samples for overall quality, flavor, color, and texture, and selecting which available fish size will work well for their market, according to AquaBounty CEO and President Sylvia Wulf.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Foodservice giants reject AquaBounty’s genetically engineered salmon

February 5, 2021 — Foodservice supplier Aramark this week confirmed its boycott of AquaBounty’s genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon.

Citing the company’s Sustainable Sourcing Policy, Aramark joins ranks with other foodservice leaders Compass Group and Sodexo, as well as a growing list of domestic retailers, seafood companies and restaurants.

“Reiterating our previously stated opposition to genetically engineered (GE) salmon, we will not purchase it should it come to market. Avoiding potential impacts to wild salmon populations and indigenous communities, whose livelihoods are deeply connected to and often dependent upon this vital resource, is core to our company’s commitment to making a positive impact on people and the planet,” Aramark’s policy states.

AquaBounty, a Massachusetts-based biotech firm, prepares to bring its gene-spliced salmon to market from its only U.S. farm in Albany, Ind., in a shifting domestic market that increasingly values origin, health and sustainability, and wild over farmed seafood.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Court orders FDA to assess environmental impact of GM salmon

November 6, 2020 — A federal court judge ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to conduct an environmental assessment of genetically modified salmon that he said was required for the agency’s approval of the fish.

But the judge did not vacate the FDA’s approval of the salmon for human consumption in the meantime, because he said the risk for near-term environmental harm is low.

“The FDA has to go back to the drawing board and do its homework,” said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups that filed suit challenging the agency’s approval of the genetically modified salmon.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco centers on AquaBounty’s salmon, which are genetically modified to grow faster than normal salmon. In 2015, the fish became the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption in the U.S. After clearing other regulatory hurdles. AquaBounty began growing the fish in indoor tanks at an Indiana plant last year.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Fishermen’s group declares “partial victory” after court ruling on GM salmon

January 3, 2020 — Even though a federal judge ruled in December that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate genetically modified salmon, a commercial fishing group that sued the agency is declaring “partial victory.”

That’s because, in May, the judge will hear arguments on the second part of the case, which questions whether the FDA’s approval of GM salmon was deficient.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘Frankenfish’ Salmon Can Be Overseen by FDA Despite Concerns

December 23, 2019 — The Food and Drug Administration can regulate salmon that’s genetically engineered to grow faster, according to a decision in a California federal court case over concerns about so-called frankenfish.

Fishing, consumer, and environmental groups that challenged the FDA’s approval of such salmon from AquaBounty Technologies Inc. failed to convince the court that the agency lacks authority to regulate the fish. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Dec. 19 sided with the FDA, leaving to a later date a decision on whether the regulator failed to consider potential risks.

AquaBounty won the FDA’s first greenlight for changing the genetic makeup of an animal destined for the dinner table. The case could have implications for similar modifications in the works for fish like tilapia and trout or other animals down the line, according to the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups that sued.

“That’s why we were so concerned about this approval,” said Amy van Saun, a senior attorney at the center. “We want to make sure people and the environment are protected.”

Genetically engineered salmon are meant as an alternative to endangered wild salmon. AquaBounty plans to harvest its salmon starting in late 2020.

Read the full story at Bloomberg Law

AquaBounty planning to label GM salmon in the US

October 7, 2019 — AquaBounty is planning to preemptively label its genetically modified salmon in the United States in 2020, a company spokesperson told SeafoodSource soon after Canadian seafood industry executives and NGOs spoke out against the fish.

At the Canadian Seafood Show in Montreal, Quebec, in September, a panel of seafood industry executives and environmental groups said that they do not plan to sell or support AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage salmon in Canada.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Groups in Canada, US call for AquaBounty egg boycott

September 12, 2019 — Canadian and U.S. environmental groups are urging the aquaculture and seafood industry to boycott AquaBounty’s Atlantic salmon eggs to eliminate the risk of any accidental mix-ups.

Friend of the Earth U.S., Friends of the Earth Canada, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), the Council of Canadians – PEI Chapter, Earth Action PEI, Ecology Action Centre (Nova Scotia), The MacKillop Centre for Social Justice (PEI), and Vigilance OGM all expressed concern that “human error could lead to the inadvertent production of GM (genetically modified) salmon in open net-pens and the resultant environmental risk,” they said in a CBAN press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Restaurants could be 1st to get genetically modified salmon

June 21, 2019 — Inside an Indiana aquafarming complex, thousands of salmon eggs genetically modified to grow faster than normal are hatching into tiny fish. After growing to roughly 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in indoor tanks, they could be served in restaurants by late next year.

The salmon produced by AquaBounty are the first genetically modified animals approved for human consumption in the U.S. They represent one way companies are pushing to transform the plants and animals we eat, even as consumer advocacy groups call for greater caution.

AquaBounty hasn’t sold any fish in the U.S. yet, but it says its salmon may first turn up in places like restaurants or university cafeterias, which would decide whether to tell diners that the fish are genetically modified.

“It’s their customer, not ours,” said Sylvia Wulf, AquaBounty’s CEO.

To produce its fish, Aquabounty injected Atlantic salmon with DNA from other fish species that make them grow to full size in about 18 months, which could be about twice as fast as regular salmon. The company says that’s more efficient since less feed is required. The eggs were shipped to the U.S. from the company’s Canadian location last month after clearing final regulatory hurdles.

As AquaBounty worked through years of government approvals, several grocers including Kroger and Whole Foods responded to a campaign by consumer groups with a vow to not sell the fish.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

AquaBounty and Intrexon Developing Gene Edited Tilapia; Receive GMO Exemption

December 21, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — AquaBounty and Intrexon announced this week that their jointly developed gene edited line of tilapia is “exempt from GM regulation” according to Argentina’s National Advisory Commission on Agricultural Biotechnology (CONABIA).

Intrexon is a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet. GM salmon farmer AquaBounty is a majority-owned subsidiary of Intrexon.

According to a press release, the engineered tilapia was developed using gene editing techniques and do not contain any foreign DNA or a new combination of genetic material. Because of this, the tilapia is not considered a genetically modified product in Argentina.

“We are focused on developing animal biotechnology for aquaculture and livestock through our subsidiaries to support sustainable food production in the U.S. and abroad,” LTG Thomas Bostick, PhD, PE, Chief Operating Officer of Intrexon, said in a statement. “We are pleased with Argentina’s leadership in establishing a transparent and predictable process for the advancement of products developed with gene editing techniques and see this as a critical development for companies seeking to bring highly innovative solutions to the global market using powerful and highly precise genetic tools. Moreover, enhancing regulatory certainty for products derived from biotechnology is critical to the future of agricultural innovation.”

The engineered tilapia has an improved fillet yield of 70%, a growth rate improvement of 16%, and a feed conversion rate improvement of 14%. The tilapia has a shortened time to harvest, which not only reduces input costs, but increases production output and reduces risk of disease.

AquaBounty CEO Ronald Stotish added that the company is “committed to advancing novel technologies into the marketplace to improve sustainability in aquaculture.” Stotish said that it’s through their collaboration with Intrexon that the company has been able to make “significant progress.”

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Murkowski: Fight against Frankenfish isn’t over

May 4, 2018 — AquaBounty may have won federal approval on April 26 for a genetically engineered salmon facility in Indiana, but they won’t be able to produce GE salmon there, says Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The Alaska Republican’s comments on May 1 came in the wake of Federal Drug Administration approval of an application for an AquaBounty salmon facility in Indiana last week. The company began developing genetically engineered salmon in 1996 and received an FDA approval in 2005 to sell it for human consumption.

Murkowski said the fight against “Frankenfish” is not over and she would continue to push for clear labeling of the product if it is to enter into the U.S. marketplace and for proper oversight.

Genetically engineered salmon currently are evaluated under the FDA’s New Animal Drug Application, a program intended to oversee antibiotics and medicines used on animals and livestock.

Read the full story at the Cordova Times