Q & A

Facts About Genetically Engineered Salmon

Q: Is there a difference between genetically engineered (GE) salmon and wild salmon?

A: Yes. Instead of spawning, or reproducing, in the wild, GE fish are made in the laboratory. There are over 35 species of fish being genetically engineered, containing genes from other fish, humans, and insects that would never occur naturally in the environment. Frankensalmon grow at abnormal rates, reaching market size in 18 months instead of three years.

Q: Are GE fish on the market now?

A: Not in the U.S. However, one biotechnology corporation, A/F Protein, seeks to make their GE salmon the first genetically engineered animal to make it to American dinner tables by next year. Other species of GE fish are already in commercial production in Cuba and China.

Q: What human health concerns are associated with GE fish?

A: Genetic engineering of any organism remains experimental, so all of the likely risks remain unknown. However, there are potential allergic and toxic concerns posed by GE foods.

Q: Are GE salmon a threat to wild fish?

A: Yes! Salmon populations everywhere are already threatened due to a host of other reasons. If GE fish are approved, they will have one more threat to contend with. GE fish could out-mate and out-compete wild fish for food and other resources. Researchers at Purdue University demonstrated that if GE fish are released into open waters, they could cause the extinction of wild fish populations. They found that Frankenfish have a mating advantage over wild species due to their unnaturally large size, but also do not produce as many offspring. The scientists figured that it would take only 60 GE fish in a population of 60,000 wild fish to cause species extinction within 40 generations.

Q: Is it possible for GE fish to escape into the wild?

A: Yes. GE fish would be raised in fish farms. Every year, thousands of fish escape from fish farms into the open sea. Escapes from fish farms are frequent and impossible to prevent. Escaped farmed fish are a threat to natural ecosystems, wild salmon, and human health.

Q: If GE fish are engineered to be sterile, can they still be a threat to wild fish?

A: Yes. Although biotechnology corporations claim their altered fish are sterile, there is no way to guarantee 100% sterility. Human error and natural variation won’t allow this. And, it would only take a few fertile GE fish to disrupt native populations. Plus, sterile fish still compete with wild fish for resources such as food.

Q: Will GE Fish help to feed the hungry?

A: It takes about four pounds of wild fish, used as feed, to produce one pound of farmed fish. Farmed fish, and therefore GE fish are an inefficient use of resources when higher yields are the goal.

Q: What current regulations protect human health and the environment from the threat of GE salmon?

A: There are no specific federal regulations to protect wild salmon populations from GE fish, and no federal requirements to label genetically engineered food. Currently, the only government agency that is even looking at GE fish is the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which claims jurisdiction by classifying GE fish as a drug. This agency has no expertise to review the environmental impacts from GE fish. Although the FDA does have expertise in reviewing food issues, the agency continues to ignore its own experts who have called for tighter regulations and have warned about the risks of eating GE foods.

Q: What is being done to stop this new threat?

A: Friends of the Earth, along with a coalition of over 60 petitioners including consumer, environmental and fishing organizations, filed legal petitions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other government agencies demanding a moratorium on the domestic marketing and importation of genetically engineered (GE) fish until they fully address the impacts on the environment and the human food supply.

Q: What can I do?

A: You or your local group can write your local supermarket and restaurants and ask that they pledge never to sell GE fish.