Is Genetically Engineered Salmon Safe for the Environment?
The theoretical problem with genetically engineered salmon is that some of them might escape and breed with wild salmon, polluting the wild salmon gene pool and threatening the species. There’s also a threat that the fast-growing fish might become an invasive species, pushing native species out of their environmental niche. The FDA analysis concludes that this is an extremely small risk: • Genetically engineered salmon are almost all sterile females. • Genetically engineered salmon, like other farmed salmon, have abnormalities that aren’t a problem on a fish farm but which likely make the fish unlikely to thrive in the wild. • Because they grow so fast, genetically engineered salmon need high-energy feed that they cannot get in the wild, making it harder for them to thrive there. • Genetically engineered salmon are raised in inland tanks. • The waterways near AquAdvantage salmon farms are not hospitable to salmon. But others — including FDA advisory panelist Craig Altier, PhD, DVM, of
