The first tonnes of transgenic salmon raised in Canada have been released in recent months. AquaBounty confirmed that it produced genetically modified salmon at its Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island facility in its third quarter earnings report released Thursday.
AquaBounty writes in this document that it harvested 84 tonnes of this fish from two sites, including its fish farm in the Atlantic and the other in Indiana, United States, for a sale value of US $ 402,000.
At least part of this total quantity comes from Canadian territory, without the company having specified how much. Harvesting in Prince Edward Island has started since June and “weekly production is steadily increasing”, reads this document intended for its investors. AquaBounty did not respond to questions from To have to at the time of this writing.
At full capacity, 250 metric tonnes per year of this fish will leave their Canadian plant.
Called AquAdvantage, this transgenic salmon would grow twice as fast as an Atlantic salmon according to previous statements from the company that developed it. A recent promotional video, however, makes no mention of this benefit. Health Canada mentions in a backgrounder that its rapid growth was made possible “by adding a chinook salmon growth hormone gene to an Atlantic salmon”.
The same company has already marketed a certain amount of transgenic salmon in 2017 and 2018, which came from a smaller farm in Panama.
It is therefore the first time that it has been produced on Canadian soil, “and on an industrial scale,” says Thibault Rehn, Vigilance OGM coordinator. This organization denounces the absence of mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods: “Who can know today where this salmon is sold? The government still denies transparency to Canadian citizens, ”said Mr. Rehn.
The confirmation that he was now on the plate of the Canadiens was only made through a report little consulted by the general public, according to him. “This is another blatant proof of non-transparency,” he continues.
This product underwent three separate evaluations before being officially approved in Canada in 2019 for human consumption and domestic production. The three government bodies “were, however, based mainly on studies of the industry. […] and we don’t have access to these studies, ”says Rehn. Vigilance OGM has indeed asked to consult them, without success.
Other environmental groups are also concerned that these modified specimens are found in nature and reproduce with the wild species, upsetting the balance of ecosystems.
For all these reasons, Thibault Rehn insists that social acceptability for the production and sale of this product “has not yet been won”. A survey conducted by the firm Léger in 2020 concluded that 85% of Quebec respondents wanted mandatory labeling of GMOs. These are also 78% of Canadians who are not ready to eat genetically modified salmon, according to a probe of the same firm.
On its website, AquaBounty writes that its salmon is “safe” and a “responsible” choice. In its report to investors on Thursday, the company also speaks of a “strong demand” for its product which proves “market acceptance”.