IMAGE COPYRIGHT AQUABOUNTY TECHNOLOGIES
By Rishaan Chowdhury
Genetics is beginning to affect our everyday lives. Genetically modified fish and meat are just becoming more and more popular at the same rate as your iPhone 11. But unlike an iPhone this can be
a risk to the health of the consumer.
AquAdvantage Salmon is nearing the market. AquAdvantage Salmon is an animal breed that AquaBounty Inc. is trying to develop. I recently spoke to Paul Greenberg, a New York Times Bestselling
Author who has written multiple books regarding this topic and has a strong opinion on or about AquAdvantage Salmon. “They want a genetically modified fish” said Paul Greenberg. This fish would
reduce the amount of fish required to be removed from the food chain to make the feed for the salmon. But it is genetically modified to have characteristics that would earn great prices due to
quality, and these altered genes could result in disastrous environmental situations if a salmon escaped and breeds in the wild. Although, AquAdvantage Salmon will be grown more inland just as
the whole industry is starting to turn to farms that are inland. This will reduce the risk of parasites getting into the fish, David Conley, the Corporate Communications Director in AquaBounty
also said that the company believes that with a reduced parasite risk the fish will be clean and fresh for the consumers to buy and enjoy. But Greenberg says that in Aquaculture (Farming and
breeding fish) “It’s risk vs. Reward". “Every time you farm fish there is a risk. But if the reward is better, then it’s worth it”. But the way AquAdvantage salmon appears, it doesn’t seem like
the risk is worth taking, and even with multiple farms moving inland, there are still a few net-pen or cage farms in the ocean and in lakes/rivers. AquAdvantage salmon does produce more flesh and
could allow grocers to earn maybe a little more revenue from having fish that is heavier and can earn higher prices which may be a better reward. Another point about AquAdvantage is that it will
contain the Omega-3 Fatty Acids that wild salmon has, it will also be “fresher” according to David Conley, Director of Corporate Communications in AquaBounty Inc. This breed in market size can
grow up to 6kg as opposed to standard salmon being 4kg. But as fish farming moves more inland since AquaBounty already has multiple farms inland, the risk of fish escaping and breeding becomes
nearly inevitable. For example in 2017 over 300,000 farmed salmon escaped their pens in British Columbia and went south all over the coast of Washington State [Reference Hakai Magazine]. The
effect of such escapes are deadly, these escapes could wipe out entire populations of wild fish that could be outdone by their farmed cousins and wipe out predators by being able to escape
better. But consuming farmed salmon such as this will reduce the amount of imported salmon here in the US. The US currently imports 400,000 mt (Metric Tons) of Salmon annually from Scotland,
Chile, and Norway. AquaBounty currently produces about 1500 mt of Salmon from Albany, Indiana, and Prince Edward Island in Canada according to David Conley. He says the company expects to be able
to produce 50,000 mt by 2028 by building multiple farms in key locations near markets in the US.
A related point is that fish as a diet isn’t necessarily the best. And this may be a reason that genetically modifying fish to that extent is not necessarily needed. In the documentary, The Fish
On My Plate, Greenberg eats fish at every meal for one year, but the result is only his Omega-3’s and Mercury level going up as opposed to the common presumption, low cholesterol, blood pressure,
and more. Greenberg said, “But recently when I ate on a vegan diet for one year, my cholesterol and blood pressure did go down”. Fish may not raise cholesterol or blood pressure but even by
raising Omega-3 it also raises Mercury which can cause permanent Brain Damage.
Greenberg thinks that the future of the last wild food on earth (Fish) will probably be something of Fisheries having “Limited Entry” in other words limiting the number of fishermen allowed to
fish This fee he believes “Could harm coastal communities. The fee will probably to expensive”. Greenberg thinks these fees may just result in worse situations of the people living by that
body of water unable to use the resource. But this also may have its perks. Having a fee for using the resource may result in more companies farming inland, resulting in no fish escapes and no
genetics harming the wild. AquaBounty farming practices do recycle over 95% of the water they use to avoid wasting water. They also collect and recycle the waste from the Salmon to use on farms
that produce veggies and fruits.
The first harvest for this product will be in Q4 2020 (Oct-Dec) harvesting 100 mt per month.
Overall, the fate of fish farming and wild fishing remains uncertain and unfortunately may remain uncertain until all our planet’s water bodies are practically destroyed. But at least we live in
a generation of environmental awareness and amazing new technology that can achieve many things good and bad. And our generation is responsible for fixing and maintaining planet earth. So, let’s
keep thinking toward a cleaner, non-toxic food, and greener earth.