Our Work
Genetically Engineered Salmon
Victory!
AquaBounty has announced that it will end fish farming operations for its genetically engineered (GE) salmon that the company had intended to be sold as food. AAVS was part of a diverse coalition of organizations representing consumers, the environment, and Indigenous peoples that campaigned for two decades to block sale of GE salmon due to health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns. We thank everyone who helped make this happen!
January 28, 2025
A Massachusetts company called AquaBounty genetically engineered (GE) a salmon to produce excess growth hormones to make the fish grow to desired market size faster than their natural counterparts. Although the sale of AquaBounty salmon for human consumption was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2015, it was done with little concern for animal welfare, questionable assessment of the science, and an inappropriate regulatory approval process.
AquaBounty’s own data shows that its GE salmon are unhealthy and experience high rates of abnormalities and mortality. Documented conditions include the risk of developing skeletal malformations, jaw erosions, lesions, and inflammation, and increased likelihood of succumbing to disease. These AquaAdvantage® salmon are raised in overcrowded, indoor tanks, where their natural behaviors are severely limited, there is increased exposure to toxins from high concentrations of excrement, and pollution is produced that can affect the surrounding environment. AquaBounty has also killed large numbers of GE salmon during production to remove those deemed unhealthy, “non-performing,” or “excess inventory.” This suffering and blatant disregard for animal life are particularly concerning given research that demonstrates that fish experience pain, fear, and distress.
The FDA’s controversial approval of GE salmon sales was made using its New Animal Drug Application (NADA), considering the fish’s genetic modification as the “new drug.” AquaBounty was required to demonstrate the safety of this modification to the animals involved but did so only after removing deformed and unhealthy animals and using a statistically invalid sample size of fewer than a dozen fish. Further, the NADA approval process fails to evaluate animal welfare or ethics.
AAVS’s has made extensive comments about the many concerns surrounding GE salmon to the public, Congress, and the FDA. For more information about GE salmon, please see the article on page 10 of the AV Magazine issue, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Aquatic Animals Under Siege.”
Also see AAVS’s report, “Animal Welfare for Sale: Genetic Engineering, Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Regulation.”