According to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, AquaBounty Technologies, the company responsible for devising the genetically modified organism known as AquaAdvantage salmon, has been awarded a 2011 Biotechnology Risk Assessment grant.
The grant, worth $494,162 will fund research exploring technologies that would render the artificial salmonids completely sterile to decrease the risk of gene flow to wild stocks. The creatures are mostly sterile, but according to the company and Food and Drug Administration briefing packets, a percentage of them remain fertile.
In June, Alaska's Congressman Don Young successfully placed an amendment to an agriculture appropriations bill that would prohibit the FDA from spending money on approving the organism for human consumption. The House approved the bill, but the matter is still before the Senate.
The environmental news outlet Grist posted a report that collects recent developments concerning the salmon, including a discussion of the new USDA research grant and comments from AquaBounty's president.