AquaBounty's GM salmon 'available for sale' in Canada, says CFIA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says geneticallymodified salmon produced in Prince Edward Island is "available forsale" in Canada, but when and where consumers can purchase the foodremains unclear.

The agency's Marie Terrien confirmed in an email Wednesday that the fish, produced by U.S.-ownedAquaBounty,canbe sold in Canada,adding that it was up to the company to say whether its productswere onsupermarket fish counters or in restaurants.

The salmon from AquaBounty's facilities in P.E.I. would be the first genetically modified salmon produced in Canada to be availablefor sale in the country.

"Following a multi-year assessment by Health Canada, AquAdvantage salmon, a genetically engineered Atlantic salmondeveloped by AquaBounty, is now available for sale in Canada,"wrote Terrien.

In an email Wednesday evening, AquaBounty declined a request foran interview about the status of salmon raised at its indoorfacility in Rollo Bay, P.E.I., saying its chief executive isunavailable "for the next few weeks due to meetings and travelschedule."

Instead, spokesman John Curtis referred The Canadian Press to investor updates on the company's website.

According to a report toAquaBounty investors in May, the first batch of P.E.I.-grown salmonwas to be available by the end of June. However, a Septemberinvestors report shifted the predicted harvest of the first RolloBay salmon to between July 1 and the end of this year.

"As a publicly traded company, we provide updates in our posted quarterly financial results," wrote Curtis, when asked what saleshad occurred.

Injected DNA lets fish grow faster

The company's Atlantic salmon is genetically modified to makethem grow faster, with someestimatesindicating they will reach market size at twice the speed ofunmodified salmon. Terrien said the company's salmon have beenevaluated by Health Canada and can be sold in the country withoutany labelling.

Lucy Sharratt, the coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, said in an interview Wednesday that the CanadianFood Inspection Agency should be providing the public with ongoingand clear information about the genetically engineered salmon.

It's astonishing if the agency isn't tracking themarket entry of this product.- Lucy Sharratt

"If consumers aren't given any labelling, does anybody other than AquaBounty know where this genetically engineered salmon is?"she asked. "It's astonishing if the agency isn't tracking themarket entry of this product."

Mark Butler, an adviser for the conservation charity Nature Canada, argues that the products should be labelled as geneticallymodified. He adds that his group remains concerned about thepotential for the salmon to enter wild environments and impactunmodified salmon stocks.

He said there are many Canadians who have various concerns about the salmon, and they have the right to know if Canadian-producedversions of the product are being sold, because taxpayers helpedfund the development of the technology and the Island facility.

"Right now, unless we don't buy salmon at all, we have no way of knowing if we're consuming it," Butler said in aninterviewWednesday.

Labelling not currently required

In its emailed comments, the company said it is following HealthCanada guidelines, which don't require it to label its product. "Inthis case, given that no health and safety concerns were identified,there are no special labelling requirements for AquAdvantageSalmon," wrote Curtis.

Butler acknowledged that the plant in P.E.I. may follow proper protocols aimed at preventing mixing the genetically engineeredsalmon with regular salmon, but he said that as the production ofmodified salmon expands around the world, the risks will escalate.

"I would say over time the likelihood of the escape will approach 100 per cent as accidents do happen, even at land-basedfacilities," he said.

Garth Fletcher, a scientist and professor emeritus at Memorial University in St. John's, N.L., led a team that developed the growthhormone gene that is injected into Atlantic salmon eggs. He said inan interview Wednesday he believes Canadians will benefit from thesale of the product in the country.

The closed, land-based systems used for producing the faster-growing salmon will eventually reduce the necessity to growsalmon in bays around the coasts decreasing both aquaculture wasteand the spread of disease among fish, he said.

Asked about whether labelling should occur, he said that's beendecided by regulators in Canada. "I've eaten the fish and there'snothing to fear," he said. "If you have religious reasons, theremay be issues there."

Fletcher said some of the push for labelling is from people who want to tell consumers that the fish "are bad for us, and that's anegative way to look at it."

Butler, however, said the lack of transparency is a major issue for many.

"At a minimum, shouldn't federal agencies tell Canadians when genetically modified salmon are on the market?" he asked.