Frankenfish: Coming To A Table Near You?

Though the push to eat local and organic has obtained a firm foothold among consumers in Nova Scotia and beyond, it seems that some suppliers and producers have yet to jump on board. An article in The Coast is reporting that a new genetically modified salmon hatchery is slated to open in PEI pending approval from Environment Canada.

U.S. company AquaBounty is looking to outsource farming of its genetically modified Atlantic salmon eggs. By combining genes and DNA from chinook salmon and ocean pout (an eel relative) its hope is that the enhanced growth cycle of these two species will promote a superior Atlantic salmon product: larger, meatier and easier to mass-produce. 

This has environmentalists and food critics up in arms over the potential danger to bio-diversity as wild fish populations could be threatened if any of the 'frankenfish' as they've been dubbed, escape into local waters. According to the article, AquaBounty has chosen Canada as a production location to avoid a full environmental review in the United States. 

Environment Canada has a big decision ahead of them. Tell us what you think: Should they grant premission for AquaBounty to set up a hatchery in PEI? Could a move like that further damage the fishing industries in the Maritimes who harvest other, smaller species? Who eats this stuff?

Read the full article here: http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2011/10/21/genetically-modified-fish-in-the-works