1.First study into GM Atlantic salmon mating reveals danger of escape to wild gene pool
2.Op-ed response to Bryan Walsh's recent article "End of the Line", in Time Magazine
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1.First study into GM Atlantic salmon mating reveals danger of escape to wild gene pool
Public release date: 13-Jul-2011
Contact: Ben Norman
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Wiley-Blackwell

If genetically modified Atlantic salmon were to escape from captivity they could succeed in breeding and passing their genes into the wild, Canadian researchers have found. Their research, published in Evolutionary Applications, explores the potential reproductive implications of GM salmon as they are considered for commercial farming.

"The use of growth-enhancing transgenic technologies has long been of interest to the aquaculture industry and now genetically modified Atlantic salmon is one of the first species to be considered for commercial farming. Yet, little is known about the potential impact on wild salmon populations if the GM species were to escape captivity," said lead author Darek Moreau from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.

One of the key concerns about a transgene escape is the "Trojan gene effect", caused when a GM fish outcompetes or reproduces equally against wild rivals, however if the resulting offspring are genetically inferior this could lead a species towards eventual extinction. Until now there is no empirical research to demonstrate the ability of transgenic Atlantic salmon to breed naturally and infiltrate the wild gene pool.

In the wild, reproducing males present two main forms of rivals which any escaping transgenic male would have to compete with; large males which have migrated and returned from the sea and smaller male parr which have matured in freshwater. The large males are aggressive and develop attributes to fight off their rivals, while the smaller male parr use cryptic colouring and 'sneak fertilisation' to compete.

To measure the ability of transgenic males to complete with wild males during the reproductive season the team monitored breeding behaviour in a naturalised laboratory setting and used genetic analysis to determine the success of competing individuals at producing offspring.

Large, migratory wild males outperformed their captivity-reared transgenic counterparts in terms of a variety of spawning behaviours. Moreover, despite being less aggressive, non-transgenic male parr were also able to outperform their GM rivals in terms of spawning behaviour, and as a result, achieved higher overall fertilisation success.

"While the transgenic males displayed reduced breeding performance relative to their non-transgenic rivals they still demonstrated the ability to successfully participate in natural spawning events and thus have the potential to contribute modified genes to wild populations," said Moreau. While the study provides an estimate of breeding performance under only a single set of physical and demographic environmental conditions, it does mimic a likely invasion scenario where the genetic background of the transgenic population differs from that of the wild population.

"Our study provides the first empirical observations on the natural reproductive capacities of growth hormone transgenic Atlantic salmon," concluded Moreau. "While the resulting ecological and genetic effects of a transgene escape remain uncertain, these data highlight the importance of preventing reproductively-viable GM salmon from entering natural systems." 

Full text of study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2011.00196.x/full (subscription required)
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2.Op-ed response to Bryan Walsh's recent article "End of the Line", in Time Magazine

Dear Editors,

We all know there is a great appetite for salmon, but the solution is not to 'farm' genetically engineered versions to put more on our dinner tables; the solution is to support and work to bring our wild salmon populations back.  Bryan Walsh’s recent article "End of the Line" (printed in Time Magazine on July 7, 2011) which details the purported benefits of "frankenfish" would be more aptly titled "End of the Line for the Engineered Red Herring."

The genetically engineered Atlantic salmon discussed in Walsh's article and currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was developed by AquaBounty Technologies, which artificially combined growth hormone genes from an unrelated Pacific salmon with DNA from the anti-freeze genes of an eelpout.  In its misguided decision to go ahead with its approval process for genetically engineered (GE) salmon, FDA has regrettably failed to take into account the plethora of economic, human health, environmental and societal risks posed by this fish.  Now consumers, investors and even our journalists are being led to believe that genetic engineering is needed to solve the problems our oceans currently face: over-fishing, dead zones, chronic pollution and the loss of marine life.  None of these problems can be solved by engineering salmon and in fact GE salmon only stand to make them worse.

The farming of carnivorous fish like salmon requires massive quantities of wild forage fish for use as fishmeal and fish oil, inputs that cannon be sufficiently replaced by vegetarian alternatives.  It can take from 3 to 10 lbs. of forage fish feed to produce just 1 lb. of farmed salmon.[i] This is a massive discrepancy that stands to be made worse by GE salmon designed to grow faster as they will likely need more food, thus increasing the pressure on wild fish stocks that are already over-fished for use by aquaculture operations.  Keep in mind that the forage fish being used in substantial quantities for aquaculture feed are the same prey fish that wild species like dolphins, tuna, sharks, whales and wild salmon depend on as their main source of food.  Forage fish like sardines, herrings and anchovies are also a vital component of the diets in most places of the world where prices for salmon (farmed or wild-caught) remain out of reach.    The public is being led to believe that
  GE
salmon will reduce the pressure on wild stocks and they are being deceived.

Unlike Mr. Walsh who asserts that our seas must embrace farming the same way we have on land, I look at our oceans with hope and promise.  Roughly 70% of the world is covered by oceans and they support a wide array of life in a way that our terrestrial ecosystems like deserts, which make up roughly one fifth of the Earth’s surface, cannot. Give the pressures for arable land, it is unsurprising that we as a species adapted to farming on land.  We need not resort to farming in the seas if we muster the political will to protect them and manage them.  

Taking a cue from Alaska which prohibits aquaculture and instead invested in management, when properly supported wild fisheries can flourish and produce abundant food as well as generate jobs and economic benefits throughout sectors.  The seafood industry in Alaska is the largest private sector employer creating 56,600 direct and 22,000 indirect jobs annually, more jobs than oil, gas and mining combined.[ii] Research published by Andrew Dyke and U. Rashid Sumaila notes that wild fisheries can also have significant economic impacts in other sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, manufacturing and financial services.  They found that regionally, every $1 of fisheries-sector output supports more than $3 of output throughout the North American economy.[iii]  Many of Alaska’s salmon processors are based in Seattle and elsewhere in Washington, Oregon or California, meaning that revenue and value is generated and spread across many states.  

Approval of GE salmon to be grown across our borders in Canada, which the company is seeking, is not in our country's best interest.  The possibility for escape is too high and the costs associated with it would be devastating given the tremendous investment that has been made by Federal and State agencies to restore wild salmon fisheries in the Northeast where Atlantic salmon is currently on the endangered species list.  A recent poll by Lake Research Partners showed that in near unanimity, 91% of Americans felt FDA should not introduce GE fish and meat into the marketplace.[iv]  If China decides to move forward with GE fish production as Mr. Walsh suggests then it is up to China and its citizens, experts and government to debate that. However as the most influential country in the world, the U.S. must represent the highest common denominator for economic, environmental and social sustainability and not cater to the lowest.  

Colin O'Neil is a regulatory policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety a non-profit public interest organization based in Washington, D.C.

[i] Naylor, R.L and Burke, M. (2005) Aquaculture and Ocean Resources: Raising Tigers of the Sea. Stanford University Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 30, page(s) 185-218; Pinto, F. and Furci, G. (2006) Salmon Piranha Style: Feed Conversion Efficiency in the Chilean Salmon Farming Industry, Edited by R. Pizarro, Terram Publications.

[ii] Northern Economics of Anchorage (January 2009) The Seafood Industry in Alaska’s Economy. Commissioned by the Marine Conservation Alliance, At-sea Processors Association and the Pacific Seafood Processors Association.

[iii] Dyck, A.J. and U.R. Sumaila. 2010. Economic impact of ocean fish populations in the global fishery. Journal of Bioeconomics. DOI: 10.1007/s10818-010-9088-3  [See attached summary by PEW Environment Group]  

[iv] Lake Research Partners, Commissioned by Food and Water Watch, 9/20/10

http://documents.foodandwaterwatch.org/release-FWW-Omnibus.pdf

For Bryan Walsh's original Time Magazine article 'End of the Line' 
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2082630,00.html