MASS. FIRM SELLS FISH FROM FARM
Salmon fillets to Canada
A Maynard biotech company that won 2015 FDA approval for the first genetically modified animal that could be sold for human consumption has made its initial sale of the farm-raised salmon.
AquaBounty Technologies Inc. sold about 5 tons of its AquAdvantage salmon fillets at market price to undisclosed Canadian clients.
“The sale and discussions with potential buyers clearly demonstrate that customers want our fish, and we look forward to increasing our production capacity to meet demand,” CEO Ronald Stotish said in a statement.
An AquaBounty spokesman declined to reveal the Canadian customers, but said “they have been very positive about our product, stating that it was very high quality in terms of appearance, texture and taste.”
The sale announcement drew criticism from the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, an Ottawa group focused on issues tied to genetic engineering in food and farming. AquaBounty received its necessary Canadian regulatory approvals for its salmon, but Canada doesn’t require mandatory labeling of the products as genetically modified, network coordinator Lucy Sharrat said.
“It comes as a great shock to many Canadians that the world’s first GM food animal has possibly already made it on their dinner plates without them knowing,” she said. “The lack of labeling is an obvious issue that needs to be addressed right away.”
AquaBounty, a subsidiary of Maryland-based Intrexon Corp., in 1996 obtained licensing rights to create a breed of genetically modified Atlantic salmon that grows substantially faster than traditional salmon. The fast growth rate shortens production to 16 to 18 months, from 28 to 36 months, making land-based farming in contained indoor tanks economically viable, according to the company.
AquAdvantage salmon eggs are produced at a land-based aquaculture facility in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and then shipped to AquaBounty’s land-based facility in Panama, where they grow until they reach market weight.
AquaBounty earned $53,278 in revenue from its salmon fillet sales for the quarter ended June 30, when it posted a $2.093 million net loss. In June, it bought a land-based Indiana farming site for $14.2 million to start commercial-scale, domestic salmon production. It also has approval from Prince Edward Island to build broodstock and growing facilities there.
“We expect that sales of our fish will be infrequent and of small quantities until our Indiana and (PEI) facilities are operational, and the fish in those facilities have matured, which is expected in the second half of 2019,” the company said in a regulatory filing last week.