JUNEAU -- Producers of a genetically modified salmon that would speed the fish's growth to maturity expect their nine-year federal application to sell the fish in the United States to be decided within a year.
That has renewed concern among commercial fishermen who, competition aside, wonder what would happen if the genetically modified fish escaped their pens and mingled with wild salmon.
"They show up in rivers in Alaska, they show up in our fishing nets and already we fear Atlantic salmon as an invasive species in our productive salmon spawning waters," said Mark Vinsel of the United Fishermen of Alaska. "When you add in the genetically modified fish, I think the concerns are multiplied."
Genetically modified, or transgenic, fish are already being denounced by fishermen and anti-fish-farming states such as Alaska as unhealthy, uneconomic and dangerous to native species of salmon.
"I'd prefer if you'd call it Frankenfish," said Alaska Sen. Kim Elton, a Democrat from Juneau. "We don't know what additional challenges might accrue because people are changing the genetics of fish."
A transgenic fish's genetic structure is changed at the molecular level, in this case to allow a mature salmon to grow from an egg in 14-16 months instead of the 22-30 months it takes wild salmon to grow. If approved, it would be the first genetically modified animal allowed for food consumption in the United States.
The earliest that genetically modified salmon could hit U.S. and Canada markets would be the next decade, after permits for selling and raising the fish in both countries are approved.
Aqua Bounty Technologies, based in Waltham, Mass., is nine years into the application process with the Food and Drug Administration, and spokesman Joe McGonigle said he expects a decision within a year.
FDA spokeswoman Rae Jones acknowledged by e-mail Aqua Bounty's pending application, but said: "We cannot provide any information about if or when it will be approved, nor can we provide any information about where it is in the approval process."
Aqua Bounty plans to sell genetically modified fish eggs to fish farms. McGonigle said the concerns of interbreeding with wild salmon are unfounded -- sterilized transgenic fish could actually reduce the chance of an invasive species hurting the wild salmon populations of the Pacific Northwest.
"You're sitting at the epicenter of hostility to salmon farming," McGonigle said of Alaska. "The single most significant issue is the risk of interbreeding. The only way you can control that is to sterilize the fish."
Sterile or not, Vinsel said, an escaped transgenic fish would still be competing with wild fish for food and to mate.
"I can't honestly take that seriously," McGonigle said, saying the number of wild salmon that return to native streams outnumber the farmed fish many times over.
McGonigle said he does not expect the genetically modified salmon to compete directly with wild salmon in the market, but contends the products can coexist. Consumer and price tiers will likely be established, with wild salmon at the top and the less expensive and more plentiful transgenic fish at the bottom.
The genetically modified salmon would make it easier for fish farmers to have better control of their stocks and even out periods of gluts and scarcity, McGonigle said.
"Nobody wants to see the prices fall, not to where it becomes difficult for people to make a living," he said.
In Alaska, lawmakers are already preparing for the introduction of genetically modified fish to the market. A bill by Elton and state Sen. Gary Stevens, a Republican from the fishing community of Kodiak, would require labeling genetically modified fish.
Elton says his proposal is complementary to past legislation that required farmed fish to be labeled in Alaska restaurants and shops. Those bill were products of a legislative salmon task force for which the goal was to protect one of the state's biggest industries.
"Hopefully, it sets a pattern," Elton said. "As frequently happens, if one state does something, another state says, 'That's a good model.' "
Elton and Stevens' bill has passed the state Senate and is being considered by the state House.
Aqua Bounty says foods produced through biotechnology are not required to be labeled unless an allergen is introduced, the nutritional content is altered or the result of modification is a new food item.
But the company plans to require its licensees to label their fish, saying consumers are more likely to accept the fish if they have the facts, and for brand recognition.
"Branding is essential for our fish, or for Alaska or for anyone else," McGonigle said.
