A GM salmon breeding company has received a permit to operate in Canada.
Canada's first commercial genetically modified salmon farm received environmental approval on Tuesday. This was the last obstacle before the supply of fast-growing fish to the market, controversy lasted for decades.
US biotech company AquaBounty has said it will begin equipping its Rollo Bay plant, located in the eastern province of Prince Edward Island. There she plans to produce up to 250 metric tons of fish per year and intends to start operations, according to representatives, "as soon as possible."
AquaBounty says the first commercial crop should be expected by the end of 2020 - around the same time as the company's other plant in Albany, Indiana.
Genetically modified salmon have a gene that allows them to grow faster than regular salmon. Such fish can reach adult size in just 16-18 months. A typical Atlantic salmon grows to the same size in 30 months. The fish will be raised in land-based hatcheries.
The United States and Canada found GM salmon as edible in 2015 and 2016, respectively. This, in turn, made genetically modified salmon the first transgenic animal to hit dinner tables in North America.
However, environmentalists and consumer groups continue to fear that this could be dangerous to human health and expose wild fish to unknown risks if GM fish somehow enter their natural environment.
“This means more Canadians will eat GM salmon without knowing it,” says Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, citing a lack of mandatory labeling for genetically modified foods in the country.
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According to AquaBounty, Argentina, Brazil and China have also approved test breeding of genetically modified fish.
Vladimir Guillen