Debate About GMO Salmon ‘Frankenfish’ Grows in Washington State

Federal regulators are considering a proposal for a GMO salmon that grows twice as fast as a normal fish. While there have not yet been any GMO animals approved for human consumption by regulators in the United States, the debate was revived in Washington state last week, where lawmakers heard a bill that would require labeling the GMO salmon.

According to a report by ABC News, critics of the “frankenfish” are concerned that the GMO salmon “will decimate the natural salmon population if it escapes and breeds in the wild.” Others believe breeding engineered animals is an ethical issue.

AquaBounty Technologies, the company that engineers “AquAdvantage Salmon,” has noted that  “the fish is safe, that they will be grown as sterile, all-female populations in land-based facilities and they won’t pose a threat to wild salmon populations.”

The FDA has, in its own research, asserted that the salmon is “safe” and “will not have any significant impacts on the quality of the human environment.”

The debate about GMO salmon farmed in Washington comes amid continued debates after a narrow loss of the state’s GMO labeling bill last year, as well as discussions about the farming of a GMO apple that will never brown.

Regarding the “frankenfish,” the FDA is currently reviewing public responses, and FDA Spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said, “We can’t predict a timeline when a decision will be made.”

If you’re at all concerned with what GMO fish might do to the environment or to human health, be sure to let the FDA know.

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