Aqua Bounty Farms to begin selling genetically modified salmon eggs

Fishmonger News Network 8mar01

The president of Aqua Bounty Farms, a leader in the emerging field of genetically engineered seafood, said Tuesday that the company will begin selling the first genetically modified salmon eggs to fish farms worldwide by late fall or early winter.

Elliot Entis, president of Waltham, Mass.-based Aqua Bounty, made the comments during an exclusive interview - broadcast live over the Internet - with Dan McGovern of Fishmonger News Network at the International Boston Seafood Show.

Earlier Tuesday, as part of a program called "Hot Trends in Retailing for the Millennium," Entis said Aqua Bounty's genetically altered fish have a growth rate of up to 600 percent higher than its non-transgenic cousins and can reach harvest size in about 16-18 months compared with the typical grow-out period of three years.

A single slide Entis presented at the program told the story: It compared two typical 14-month-old salmon - usually 3 to 4 inches long - with an engineered one that was about 15 inches long and weighed 6.6 pounds.

The dramatic growth rate - which is also possible in trout, tilapia and Arctic char, among others - stems from the insertion of a "gene construct" from species such as a winter flounder or ocean pout that stimulates higher growth in the pituitary gland and the liver.

The salmon don't grow larger than non-engineered fish, Entis said. "They just get there quicker," he explained, noting that the time savings could allow fish farmers to achieve greater profits via a more rapid production cycle.

He said the fish "are basically identical" to other salmon, but may have a slightly lower fat content that could have health benefits for consumers.

While the Food and Drug Administration does not require labeling of genetically engineered seafood, Entis said he favors labeling because it will help build "consumer trust and faith."

The program included a lively exchange between Entis and Phillip Nabors, president of Mustard Seed Market & Cafe in Akron, Ohio.

"Consumers have an opinion about genetically modified foods," said Nabors, stressing that consumers have "fundamental concerns about what goes into their bodies."

He added that consumers "want labeling generally so they can avoid genetically engineered foods."

Nabors also expressed concern that environmental and ethical issues need to be addressed. "Once [the engineering is] done, you can't put the genetic genie back in the bottle," he said.

Entis objected to Nabors' "rigid environmental bias" against the technology. "Let's look at what it can do and judge it on its merits," he said.

The "Hot Trends" session, attended by about 150 people, was moderated by Fiona Robinson, editor-in-chief of Seafood Business magazine. Other panelists included David Theran, chief marketing officer with FultonStreet.com  in Long Island City, N.Y.; and Mark Lamothe, vice president of marketing for Gorton's Seafood in Gloucester, Mass.

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