JUNEAU, ALASKA - A new study of genetically modified salmon shows they can breed with their wild counterparts.
That raises concerns that escaped farmed fish could weaken wild stocks. It’s not an immediate threat to Alaska species, though it could be to commercial sales.
The study was conducted at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, on Canada’s eastern seaboard.
Graduate student Darek Moreau says he and other researchers worked with what are called growth hormone transgenic Atlantic salmon. Those have an added Chinook, or king salmon gene, that speeds their growth.
Moreau says modified males were exposed to male and female wild salmon in a laboratory simulation of natural spawning conditions.
"So we basically put these fish together and allowed them to do what they do that time of the year and recorded the results. ... We found the transgenics had a much reduced breeding performance but they did, in fact, show an interest in breeding and the ability to breed," Moreau says.
The research, published in the scientific journal Evolutionary Applications, is the first to show this type of genetically engineered salmon can interbreed with wild fish.
Moreau says the study should raise concerns about the possible release of modified salmon through accidents at fish farms.
"If there was a significant number of escapes that occurred in succession over many years, there’s certainly the potential for there to be some harm," Moreau says.
He notes that the commercial developer, Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies, plans to raise only sterile fish in closed pens. The company did not return calls requesting comment, but it has not begun commercial production.
British Columbia has the closest fish farms to Alaska. Past accidents have released Atlantic salmon into the Pacific Ocean, some of which ended up in Alaska waters.
But several scientists said cross-fertilization is not an issue here.
"Atlantic salmon basically don’t breed with Pacific salmon,' says Ted Meyers, chief pathologist for Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game.
"As far as being a genetic threat to our own Pacific salmon here in Southeast Alaska, that’s not likely. Speaking in that term, the transgenic fish then would be no greater threat than the unaltered Atlantic salmon currently farmed in B.C.," he says.
And that province’s fish farms say they don’t plan to use the modified fish anytime soon.
Ruth Salmon is executive director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, which includes the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association. She says the industry is waiting for government assurance that the fish are safe.
"That’s a key component. But the other aspect here is until the market demands it. Because we’re producing products that the market demands. And right now there is no demand for GMO salmon," she says.
Fish-farm critics say that time will come.
"I think the B.C. salmon-farming industry is under such heavy assault right now that they wouldn’t dare mention wanting to use genetically modified fish," says Alexandra Morton, a marine biologist in British Columbia and a leading critic of fish farming’s impacts on wild salmon runs.
"One thing they tell us all the time is that they have to remain competitive. And that’s why if genetically modified fish give one area an edge on the market, in other words make these fish grow faster, then you can be sure they want to use it here just as soon as possible," she says.
Morton says modified salmon, like their unaltered cousins, could spread disease and parasites to wild Pacific stock. And she says commercial development should be limited.
"When you start modifying a creature genetically, you enter a whole new realm. You have no idea where you’re going. These things absolutely belong in a quarantined situation in a concrete tank on land," Morton says.
Researcher Darek Moreau, who proved the fish could cross-breed with wild Atlantic salmon, has fewer concerns. But he says containment is the key to safety.
"So long as these animal are treated with respect and are raised in a matter that respects the potential danger that they could cause to ecosystems, I don’t think Alaskans need to worry too much about this technology from an environmental perspective," Moreau says.
It could raise concerns from an economic perspective. Faster-growth would (also) improve the competitive advantage of farmed fish, which have already displaced wild salmon sales worldwide.
Alaska’s Congressional delegation and about 20 other members of Congress recently wrote the Food and Drug Administration to oppose Aqua Bounty’s plans. One letter said sales of genetically modified salmon would cause fear and confusion among consumers. And that could slow all sales of the species.
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