Independent Science News has just published “What Will The World Inherit From GE Salmon?” by Dr. Gerry Goeden.
Article Synopsis: Ten percent of Norwegian salmon rivers no longer have any wild salmon populations, and Norwegian wild salmon as a whole have declined by 80% since the 1970s. This disappearance of wild salmon is not limited to Norway, it is a global phenomenon. The explanation is not the standard one of overfishing. Instead, it is primarily a consequence of the escape in massive numbers of salmon from fish farms. These escapees are artificially boosting official estimates of wild populations but at the same time are chauffeuring wild salmon populations to extinction. The mechanism is that well-fed but genetically uniform and ultimately maladapted farmed fish are mating with wild fish and swamping the native gene pools. Meanwhile, Canada and AquaBounty have well advanced plans for a GE salmon to enter the market. What would be the impact of GE salmon on wild populations?
Dr. Goeden, a marine biologist, succinctly summarizes the scientific issues behind a little known yet major threat to wild fisheries. His analysis raises many vital ecological and social questions: What implications does the salmon research have for other farmed and non-farmed fish? What would be the impact on food security and human health of a world empty of wild salmon? With the elimination of wild salmon, who would control the world’s supply of salmon?
Read Dr. Goeden’s full article at: http://www.independentsciencenews.org/environment/what-will-the-world-inherit-from-ge-salmon/
For more on GE Salmon see:
The AquaBounty Salmon: Will the World’s First Commercial GE Animal Be an Albatross? (ISN 2010)
