This is Henry Clifford again. I would like to address some of the statements made by Joe Cummins in Message 69 regarding the genetically modified (AquAdvantage) salmon.
A. "There has not been reported monitoring of the [Prince Edward Island] PEI facility to ensure that the fertilized eggs were safely contained and have not resulted in feral populations of the transgenic salmon."
This is a grossly inaccurate statement. We have been operating the PEI facility for a very long time, with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) requiring daily monitoring and inspection of the multiple, redundant containment measures in place, and extensive records indicating continuous containment at the facility. These records have been reviewed by several agencies in Canada and by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In fact after review of our containment protocols and track record of successful containment, the FDA approved the PEI site within the framework of our FDA application by issuing a FONSI (finding of no significant impact). And of course, it goes without saying that no incidents of feral populations of transgenic salmon have been reported in PEI.
B. "By the way, triploid salmon are known to revert to fertile animals at low but significant frequency."
I am unaware of any publication documenting this in Atlantic salmon; if you can corroborate this with references, please do so. Reversion has been observed in triploid oysters, but not in Atlantic salmon that I am aware of.
C. ".......but the huge number of Atlantic Salmon escaping from pens may produce conditions driving the formation of stable wild populations. Who knows what the fast growing big feeding transgenic salmon will do to wild populations?"
The answer to that hypothetical question is: "nothing". As was previously stated in my Message 43, AquAdvantage Salmon will not be reared in net pens, but will only be cultured in land based, contained aquaculture systems (e.g. tanks) with multiple, redundant containment barriers. Our FDA application contemplates only one approved production site for growout (once FDA approval is granted), and it is in Central America, where feral populations of Atlantic salmon (or brown trout) do not exist. There are no other sites under consideration for growout. At the Central America site the biosecurity protocols consist of 21 individual containment elements, with a minimum of seven sequential elements in series. So not only are there 21 physical barriers confining the salmon to the culture system, plus the two biological containment measures previously described in Message 43 (sterility + single sex), but there is a natural thermal barrier (lethal ambient water temperatures) preventing the salmon from reaching the ocean, should they somehow manage to breach the 21 physical containment barriers. And there are no wild populations of salmon present.
Henry C. Clifford
Vice President of Marketing & Sales
AquaBounty Technologies
San Diego,
California 92121
United States
Tel: 858 450-9487
Fax: (858) 450-9519
Email: hclifford (at) aquabounty.com
www.aquabounty.com
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