VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Genetically engineered salmon may be popping up on kitchen tables throughout the United States, but that is raising some concern closer to home.
They're called AquAdvantage, the gene altered salmon that grow to full size twice as fast as regular fish, and they're raised off the coast of Prince Edward Island. Meanwhile, US regulators already say they're safe to eat and unlikely to hurt the environment.
But Catherine Stewart with the B.C. based Living Oceans Society, a non-profit that works toward preservation of marine diversity, says she's worried about what might happen if the fish escape and mix with wild salmon.
Stewart says there is no telling how dangerous these fish can be. "We think it's extremely worrying. Just tempering with the absolute essentials building blocks of nature to this extent and particularly in food products to be consumed by the public."
She says she's also concerned if the fish get approval south of the border, Canada will be next. "If the FDA approves this, we know that Aqua Bounty (the manufacturer of modified salmon) is already approaching Health Canada about the possibility of introducing it into Canada."
There will be a two-day hearing on the fish later this month in the US. One of those days will focus on whether the product will have to be labeled as genetically modified. In Canada, there is no law that makes companies label their products as genetically modified.
To have a look at the FDA report on AquAdvantage, have a look here.