AquaBounty gets closer to first commercial harvest of GM salmon

Land-based salmon farming company AquaBounty Technologies Inc. has begun commercial-scale harvest at its Atlantic salmon farm in Indiana, U.S.A.

With this harvest of conventional Atlantic salmon underway, AquaBounty is gearing up for the first commercial harvest of its proprietary, genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon in the fourth quarter of 2020 at the Indiana farm.

The recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility is the company’s first farm in the United States.

The successful harvest, the company said, validates its RAS technology as an efficient and sustainable model for raising Atlantic salmon.

“As the global population increases, we are seeking better ways to efficiently feed a hungry world with a sustainable source of nutritious food,” said AquaBounty’s CEO Sylvia Wulf. “Land-based aquaculture is a reliable method for supplying fresh and healthy salmon. This harvest is the result of AquaBounty’s almost 30 years of experience in aquaculture and demonstrates our expertise in raising Atlantic salmon.”

AquaBounty is known for developing the first genetically modified (GM) salmon. The company’s AquAdvantage salmon is based on a single, specific molecular modification in fish. The modification results in more rapid growth in early development compared to conventional salmon.

The company raises its GM salmon exclusively in RAS farms in Indiana and Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

The planned GM salmon harvest in Indiana “will be followed by the first harvest of AquAdvantage salmon at its Canada-based, Prince Edward Island Farm in the first quarter of 2021,” a company press release said. “AquaBounty currently is the first and only provider of genetically engineered Atlantic salmon approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada.”