Get Ready for Mutant Gene-Altered Salmon A truly frightening science project is just waiting to enter the American food supply: genetically engineered salmon care of A/F Protein Inc., the biotech company that owns Aqua Bounty Farms, the fish's creator. The salmon have been spliced with foreign genes from two different varieties of fish that produce growth hormones in it year round, causing it to grow to seven pounds - "market size" - in half as much time as it would unaltered salmon. Elliot Entis, president of A/F Protein, said that the company would be ready to ship them next year, should they receive federal approval. They are also seeking approval to sell the salmon in Canada. Biotech companies have also created fast-growing trout and catfish, as well as virus-resistant oysters, and pigs that produce leaner meat. Critics of the genetic engineering industry warn that biotech "food animals" can slip through gaping holes in the U.S. federal regulations net. Salmon are typically grown in enclosures in the sea, known as net pens, that often are torn. Fish, sometimes by the tens of thousands, routinely escape into the wild. A recent study showed that populations of wild fish could be decimated by mating with certain types of genetically engineered fish, should they escape. In addition to this, there is the imminent possibility of environmental disruptions, like those that occur when non-indigenous species are introduced into established ecosystems, as zebra mussels have the Hudson River. U.S. regulators could not point to any federal laws detailing the use or release if genetically engineered animals. "This is a very big hole," said Dr. Rebecca Goldburg, senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund. "There's nothing clearly on the books. There are no regulations about what you can and can't do." Additionally, activist organizations are concerned that the FDA is inexperienced in reviewing potential environmental risks. "The FDA is not qualified to evaluate the ecological risks of engineered fish," said Dr. Jane Rissler, senior staff scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "We should be concerned that the environment will be at risk." Even some associated with the Clinton administration have been actively promoting stricter regulations. "We need a system that lets us check things beforehand, that shifts the burden of proof onto those that would introduce them," said Dr. William Brown, science adviser to the secretary of the Department of the Interior. "I don't think the potential impacts on nature have been thought through as well as they should be."

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