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A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 14 March 2019
U.S, regulators clear path for genetically modified salmon

By CANDICE CHOI salmon are raised in tanks
AP Food & Health Writer and bred to be female and
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. reg- sterile, measures designed
ulators on Friday gave the to address any fears that
green light to salmon ge- they might get into the en-
netically modified to grow vironment and breed with
about twice as fast as nor- wild fish.
mal, but the company be- But Kimbrell, of the Center
hind it may face legal chal- for Food Safety, said the
lenges before the fish can company's own tests have
be sold domestically. shown it's not 100 percent
The Food and Drug Admin- certain the fish would be
istration said it lifted an alert sterile, and that concerns
that had prevented Aqu- about it getting in the en-
aBounty from importing its vironment would grow if
salmon eggs to its Indiana the company's operations
facility, where they would were to expand.
be grown before being sold He also noted the disclo-
as food. The agency noted sure regulation uses the
the salmon has already term "bioengineered,"
undergone safety reviews, This 2009 photo provided by AquaBountyTechnologies shows a juvenile salmon raised at the even though most people
and that it lifted its alert company's hatchery in Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Canada. are more familiar with the
because the fish would be Associated Press term genetically modified.
subject to a new regulation And he pointed out that
that will require companies in 1991, and it has been fish is Atlantic salmon modi- months when they reach companies can provide
to disclose when a food is working through years of fied with DNA from other 10 pounds, she said. disclosure through codes
bioengineered. safety reviews and regula- fish species to grow faster, Wulf said it's been difficult that have to be scanned.
The move comes despite tory hurdles to sell its fish in which the company says to engage companies in Implementation of that
a pending lawsuit filed by the United States. In 2015, will help feed growing de- sales discussions because regulation starts in 2020,
a coalition of consumer, its salmon became the mand for animal protein AquaBounty didn't know though people may start
environmental and fishing first genetically modified while reducing costs. when it could start grow- seeing disclosures on pack-
groups that challenged the animal approved by the AquaBounty CEO Sylvia ing the fish in the United ages sooner. Compliance
FDA's approval of the fish. FDA for human consump- Wulf said the company ex- States. She said the salmon becomes mandatory in
"We think a remedy in our tion. But the agency sub- pects to get a final certifica- already has been sold in 2022.
case would stop sale of the sequently issued an alert tion for its Albany, Indiana, limited quantities in Cana- The genetic modification
fish before they're allowed that stopped the Maynard, growing facility in the com- da, where it doesn't have for AquaBounty's fish is dif-
to be sold," said George Massachusetts-based com- ing weeks. Salmon eggs to be labeled as genetical- ferent from gene-editing
Kimbrell, legal director for pany from importing its fish could then be sent from ly modified. Wulf said she technology, which lets
the Center for Food Safety, eggs until disclosure guide- the company's research doesn't expect the pend- scientists snip out specific
one of the groups suing the lines for genetically modi- and development facility ing lawsuit to affect the genes to bring about traits
FDA. fied foods were resolved. in Canada, and would be company's U.S. plans. without introducing foreign
AquaBounty was founded Called AquAdvantage, the harvested after about 18 The genetically modified DNA. q

Species by the dozen moved

north during marine heatwaves

By JANIE HAR around, but the abun- warm waters.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — dance of migration pro- Temperatures in Northern
Dozens of species of sea vides a glimpse of what the California waters, which
slugs, jellyfish and other Northern California coast normally range from 50 to
marine life from toastier might look like in the future, 55 degrees Fahrenheit (10
southern waters migrated said Eric Sanford, lead au- to 13 Celsius), increased 3.5
into the Northern Califor- thor and UC Davis profes- to 7 degrees Fahrenheit.
nia region over an unusu- sor. Larry Crowder, a professor
This Sept. 12, 2015, photo provided by Jacqueline Sones shows ally long two-year period of "I've been working here for at Stanford University's Hop-
a Janolus Nudibranch in Bodega Harbor, Calif. severe heatwaves, says a 14 years and before our kins Marine Station who is
Associated Press new scientific report. very eyes we are seeing not affiliated with the study,
The 67 species identified in a shift in the local marine said the report is impressive
the report include a carniv- communities," he said. in documenting how spe-
orous sea slug that preys on The 2014-2016 period stud- cies respond to change
other sea slugs and a sea ied by researchers began differently and, in some
snail "butterfly" usually spot- in the Gulf of Alaska as a cases, dramatically.
ted hundreds of miles away persistently warm patch in He said the report could
off the coast of Mexico. 2013 known as the "warm- help studies in fisheries
The study by the University water Blob" that spread management.
of California, Davis is to be south. Later, an El Nino Of the 67 species, research-
published Tuesday in Scien- event along the equator ers documented 37 had
tific Reports. moved north, and the two set new records in traveling
Not all the species stuck factors led to unusually north.q