Aquaadvantage Salmon: The Market Situation Case Study

Introduction

In the modern world, various problems occur and require contemporary, thoughtful, and even risky solutions. One of the issues that farmers and scientists have to face is the growth of people’s demand for fish and the inability of the fishing grounds to meet it. The reason is that they are already depleted to such an extent that their future viability is at risk. Surprisingly, biologists have come up with a modern idea and developed GM fish that may appear to be a great replacement for the regular one. However, there are some doubts and problems with this project since it is a relatively new scientific approach that many people are not ready for and are suspicious of. The purpose of this paper is to discuss AquaAdvantage Salmon and the facts and questions related to this fish.

Differences Between AquaAdvantage Salmon and Wild Caught Salmon

Undoubtedly, there are certain differences between AquaAdvantage and wild-caught salmon that make a great number of people be against genetically modified fish. First of all, it is necessary to describe these two groups and compare them. Generally, a random person would probably not be able to differentiate between a GM and a normal fish. They look similar, and, as some people may imagine, AquaAdvantage salmon does not have two heads or more eyes than conventional Atlantic salmon. However, they differ in a number of traits, including gene transcription, physiology, behavior, life history, morphology growth, and molecular‐genetic polymorphisms (Glover et al., 2017). The average length for both transgenic and non-transgenic Atlantic salmon is 70 to 75cm, and the average weight is 3.5 to 5.5 kg (Knepp, n.d.). The main difference between them is the time they need to grow to their market size.

It is rather interesting that for the inserted growth hormone gene to work properly, the fish need to have access to food. If juvenile AquaAdvantage salmon are fed to satiation, they can grow almost three times longer than conventional ones (Bondar, 2019). However, with growing faster, they do not also grow larger overall (Bondar, 2019). Thus, adult conventional Atlantic salmon and AquaAdvantage salmon are the same size, though GM fish needs less food to grow to it.

Genetically modified fish is growing really fast; it takes AquaAdvantage salmon approximately sixteen to eighteen months to achieve the market weight. At the same time, conventional Atlantic salmon needs thirty-two to thirty-six months, which is exactly twice as long (McCarthy, 2011). Therefore, in the same period of time, it becomes possible to create twice as much GM salmon as to catch conventional Atlantic ones. This is what allows to significantly increase the supply of fish to the market and satisfy the needs of people.

Another difference between these groups is their behavior in the wild waters and interaction with other fish. Researchers note that it is much easier for conventional salmon that has grown in the natural environment to get food (Yaskowiak et al., 2006). However, if genetically modified salmon are released into open waters, there is a high probability of their death due to the impossibility of obtaining food or protecting themselves from predators.

It may seem that the behavior of conventional fish is more effective than that of GM ones. It was analyzed in the article that provides the first empirical data reports concerning “the breeding performance of GH transgenic Atlantic salmon males” (Moreau et al., 2011, p. 737). The results described by the authors are rather valuable for scientific society. The article’s findings showed that in terms of spawn participation, quivering frequency, and nest fidelity, captively reared transgenic counterparts were outperformed by wild anadromous males (Moreau et al., 2011). Therefore, the ability to interact with other fish effectively is another difference between GM and conventional salmon.

Problems Arising from Using Genetically Modified Salmon

Notwithstanding the fact that AquaAdvantage salmon has already been approved for human consumption, there are people who are entirely against GM fish. Their main arguments are built on the list of possible problems that may arise from using transgenic salmon. For example, escapes or releases occur in the wild waters due to the selective breeding programs, and the gene flow can create a considerable possibility of direct negative genetic influence on wild populations (Yaskowiak et al., 2006). This problem is believed to be especially severe in fishes because large‐scale aquaculture production has replaced the harvesting of wild populations. As a result, “salmonids represent a continuum of both the quantity and technological concerns associated with their production” (Glover et al., 2017, p. 891). This is a severe problem that needs to be addressed.

AquaAdvantage Salmon and the Way to the Market

The creation of AquaAdvantage began in the 1900s, and in 1995 its developers first started the approval process with the United States Food and Drug Administration. There was a significant number of difficulties, concerns, small successes, and obstacles, but in 2019 the FDA finally cleared the last regulatory hurdle (“GM salmon shut out of U.S.,” 2016). Therefore, the sale of AquaAdvantage salmon became allowed, and people started buying it in supermarkets.

Before getting approved for human consumption and entering the market, GM fish was restricted, and the reasons for that will be discussed below. In the United States, two assessments were required from AquaAdvantage salmon. The first one was needed to determine if a new animal drug entering the food supply is safe. The second one was necessary to evaluate the potential risk to the environment. They were successfully received by the GM fish, but the hurdles did not finish. Another attempt to prevent AquaAdvantage salmon from being placed in the U.S. kitchens was made in 2016 when the FDA stopped all GM salmon from entering the country (“GM salmon shut out of U.S.,” 2016). It was the temporary hold until labeling guidelines are finalized to let the consumers know what they buy (“GM salmon shut out of U.S.,” 2016). This restriction was an obstacle that the developers of transgenic salmon managed to overcome. Finally, in 2019, the import alert was removed, and nowadays, AquaAdvantage salmon may be imported, sold, and raised in the U.S.

It is hard to disagree that these restrictions were just an attempt to keep people and the environment safe from the negative effect of GM fish. Such development is an entirely new idea, and some Americans need more time to start believing that it is not dangerous for their health (“GM salmon shut out of US,” 2016). Moreover, some time is required to pass until people can see that there are many more advantages of AquaAdvantage salmon than problems.

Unanswered Questions Regarding AquaAdvantage Salmon

Despite the fact that AquaAdvantage salmon’s way to the market was successfully approved, there are still some unsolved problems and concerns. Generally, two vitally important and rather broad questions are necessary to be completely elucidated in the grand scheme of things. First, it is essential to determine the scientists’ knowledge of “and the potential need to establish threshold tolerance limits, if they exist” (Glover et al., 2017, p. 917). Second, currently, there is a lack of “unequivocal documentation and quantification of the biological consequences (productivity and abundance, resilience, life‐history profiles) of introgression in natural populations” (Glover et al., 2017, p. 917). In order to find proper solutions to these problems, it is necessary to discuss them in detail.

It is well documented that there is a number of significant differences between AquaAdvantage and wild salmon, and there are some adverse effects of GM fish escaping into the wild waters. Nevertheless, as for the biological changes in natural populations, currently, there is still a lack of documentation, which may be a severe issue for the scientific society (“AquAdvantage Salmon,” n.d.). This global question may be broken down into four smaller and interrelated parts:

1. After the direct genetic interactions with farmed escapees, what were the biological changes in wild populations, and to what extent have they occurred?
2. Precisely what differences between GM and wild salmon contribute the most to “fitness loss in introgressed populations?” (Glover et al., 2017, p. 917).
3. If farmed escapes are successfully minimized or stopped completely, in what way and how fast is it possible for natural selection to “purge maladaptive variation from recipient wild populations?” (Glover et al., 2017, p. 917).
4. What are the traits’ epigenome, transcriptome, and genome crucial for fitness in the wild?

After documenting and quantifying biological changes, another question may arise. Is there environmental and genetic evolutionary plasticity in wild populations that will let them absorb a small percentage of farmed escapees’ introgression? Besides, will they be able to do that and not lose their future evolutionary potential to other challenges or change their key parameters? It is possible to suggest that answering the listed questions will make the whole picture clear, and there will no concerns left.

Creation and Development of AquaAdvantage Salmon

AquaAdvantage salmon has a rather interesting story of creation and development, which started in the 1990s. Canadian researchers took and combined a gene promoter from the ocean pout and a growth hormone gene from Pacific Chinook salmon and created the first fast-growing genetically engineered salmon. According to Bondar (2019), “they microinjected the transgene into fertilized eggs of wild Atlantic salmon, and characterized the insertion” (para. 3). As a result, they created the genetically engineered fish that actually are ~99.99986% Atlantic salmon, “with the addition of just 4,205 base pairs in a genome of 2.97 billion bases” (Bondar, 2019, para. 4). Moreover, Atlantic salmon’s and Chinook’s growth hormone proteins are 95% identical, which means that the only element that is new is the ocean pout promoter. It was chosen by the developers since it controls the genes that are always expressing while the salmon promoter for growth hormone needs special environmental conditions to be on. Precisely the combination of the promoter sequence and the gene allows AquaAdvantage salmon to grow all year round as opposed to farmed or wild fish that grow seasonally.

Possible Positive Implications for Nutritional Value and Farming Environment

Despite the fact that there is a number of concerns and threats, genetically engineered AquaAdvantage salmon was finally approved for human consumption. The main reason for its success is that there are various positive implications for nutritional value and farming environment (Bondar, 2019). Some of them a rather necessary and valuable, that is why they are much more important than people’s doubts and fears of GM fish. In order to understand the whole picture, it is necessary to discuss the advantages of using transgenic fish.

First of all, creating GM fish is beneficial due to many reasons, including the fact that genetic modifications make them more tolerant to cold temperatures and resistant to bacterial diseases. It is hard to disagree that these traits make it possible to solve the problem of reducing the salmon population. Moreover, modified genes let the fish grow much faster and ensure the invasive species’ biocontrol (Muir, 2004). Due to the fact that customers’ demand for fish is increasing rapidly, it is necessary to increase the supply of salmon to the market. Getting twice as much fish in the same amount of time can allow this to be achieved. Moreover, it will enable to save fishing farms from being depleted to a great extent and increase their economics (Muir, 2004). Undoubtedly, this event will have a significant and rather positive effect on the country’s and market’s economic condition.

Cultivating AquaAdvantage salmon in land-based systems is expected to allow the fish to grow locally near food consumption areas. Compared with coastal-based farms, this choice of location will probably reduce the negative effects on the environment and eliminate one of the concerns that bother a significant number of scientists (McCarthy, 2011). As a result, this will also limit exposure to diseases, which is rather usual in communal ocean pens, and provide another safety measure against wild populations.

In addition to the advantages discussed above, there are some nutritional benefits of GM fish. First, its relatively low prices will attract those consumers who are looking for affordable options and low-fat. According to Upton and Cowan (2015), buyers will also have “health benefits from consumption of salmon rather than less healthy protein sources” (p. 23). However, the most crucial advantage is that developing GM fish designed to be eaten eliminates some severe consequences of gathering it from the wild.

Since there is a great number of possible positive effects of AquaAdvantage salmon, it would be rather helpful to increase their population without putting much effort and spending money. After several observations, transgenic salmon males appeared to be able to participate in natural spawning events, and this fact is of vital importance for the scientific society (Varela, 2013). If this is true, then there is a potential that they bring their genes into subsequent generations. Thus, the number of GM fish will increase naturally and contribute to the improvement of the market and economy.

Moreover, for the genetically engineered fish to grow to the same size as the conventional ones, they need less food. Eating less and growing faster – these are two main advantages of transgenic salmon that make them a perfect solution. According to researchers, “the overall total amount of feed required to produce the same fish biomass was reduced by 25%” for AquaAdvantage salmon (Bondar, 2019, para. 6). Spending less money on feed and getting more fish for human consumption is what the fishing farms need in order to increase their performance.

Conclusion

To draw a conclusion, one may say that it is common for people to doubt and be against some new developments and solutions. The modern world requires modern and risky ideas, but some humans are not ready for them. That is why not everyone approves transgenic fish and tries to avoid buying it or create regulatory hurdles on its way to market. However, as for AquaAdvantage salmon, it has huge potential to increase farms’ yield and improve the market situation. Despite the fact that there some risks and concerns, GM salmon is a great creation that may have a significant impact on the current fish farms. Probably after scientists and biologists find answers to the remaining questions and dispel all doubts of buyers, AquaAdvantage salmon will seem completely safe and will not be avoided by people.

References

AquAdvantage Salmon. (n.d.). Center for Food Safety. Web.

Bondar, A. (2019). Fast-growing genetically engineered salmon approved. Biology Fortified. Web.

Glover, K. A., Solberg, M. F., Mcginnity, P., Hindar, K., Verspoor, E., Coulson, M. W., Hansen, M. M., Araki, H., Skaala, Ø., & Svåsand, T. (2017). Half a century of genetic interaction between farmed and wild Atlantic salmon: Status of knowledge and unanswered questions. Fish and Fisheries, 18(5), 890-927.

GM salmon shut out of US. (2016). Nature Biotechnology, 34(3), 220.

Knepp, T. (n.d.). Atlantic salmon. Fish and Aquatic Conservation. Web.

McCarthy, A. (2011). Genetically modified salmon vying for a spot at the dinner table. Chemistry & Biology, 18(1), 1-2.

Moreau, D. T., Conway, C., & Fleming, I. A. (2011). Reproductive performance of alternative male phenotypes of growth hormone transgenic Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Evolutionary Applications, 4(6), 736-748.

Muir, W. M. (2004). The threats and benefits of GM fish. EMBO Reports, 5(7), 654-659.

Upton, H. F., & Cowan, T. (2015). Genetically engineered salmon. Congressional Research Service, 1-26.

Varela, J. C. (2013). FDA is ready to authorize GM salmons but is the market ready for them? European Journal of Risk Regulation, 4(4), 521–526.

Yaskowiak, E. S., Shears, M. A., Agarwal-Mawal, A., & Fletcher, G. L. (2006). Characterization and multi-generational stability of the growth hormone transgene (EO-1alpha) responsible for enhanced growth rates in Atlantic Salmon. Transgenic Research, 15(4), 465-480.