It's only a question of when, not if, genetically modified Atlantic salmon, popularly known as "Frankenfish" escape into the wild. Oh it will be some horrible mistake to be sure. No one, we'll be told, could have foreseen what happened. Yeah, right.
Canadian scientists decided to run a little experiment to see what would happen if genetically modified Atlantic salmon, Frankenfish, escaped and wound up with other species, in the case of their experiment, ordinary brown trout.
Their research, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, reveals that not only did the two species successfully interbreed but they produced a hybrid Frankenfish.
“When the fish were placed in a mocked-up stream inside the laboratory, the researchers found that the hybrids were out-competing both the genetically modified salmon and wild salmon, significantly stunting their growth,” writes Rebecca Morelle, science reporter for BBC News.
“They’re like the super offspring,” said George Leonard, director of strategic initiatives, Ocean Conservancy.
The would-be Frankenfish producer, AquaBounty, responded by saying they'll only be producing females and even that will only be done on facilities on-shore.
Yeah, for now.
4 comments:
Yeah, yeah, yeah! Just like the government would not listen to my father back in the 60's regarding foreign factory ships taking everything off the bottom and throwing back what they did not want. My father was a Deparment of Fishers Supervisor located in Newfoundland and knew that cod stocks were being depleted but nothing was done about it. Now, cod is not recovering with the help of the Harp Seal. So...with this governments wisdom egarding fisheries, it doesn't take a mensa IQ to know it is only a matter of time before one of these modified salmon escapes and voila....another disaster.
I agree entirely, Anyong. On this coast, every time anyone suggests quotas to protect endangered fish stocks, the commercial fishing types rail on as though not allowing them to empty the sea is a breach of some divine right of theirs.
Years back I read an economics paper on fish hatcheries. It explored how hatcheries are a public subsidy of the fishing fleet. The research revealed how, without that steady supply of hatchery fish, most of the fleet would be idled.
The commercial fishery is at odds with nature and would self-destruct without government handouts.
Yes...I totally agree and you are correct about the government handouts. However in Newfoundland & Labrador it was the foreign fishing fleets fees the Federal Government was most interested in. Newfoundland has been duped big time right from the beginning of Conderation beginning in 1933which was a hatched up deal between Britain and Canada. Canada wanted the rights to the iron ore sitting on top of the ground in Labrador and did not want an economic alliance with the US which Newfoundlanders favoured. It was "to hell with Newfoundlanders and their fish" Please do get a copy of "Don't Tell the Newfoundlanders" It isn't difficult to understand the hatred the Newfoundland fishery has for the Federal Government.
If gmo wheat can escape, how could a frankenfish not?
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