GM Salmon
Why GMO?
• output from fisheries has effectively hit a ceiling since the mid-1980s
• any growth in seafood consumption is due to aquaculture
• improving aquaculture output to keep up with growing populations, appetites, preferences
World Population
1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
6,909
7,6758,309
8,8019,150
682 791 978 1,2621,650
2,521
5,978
6,909
Estimated (millions) Projected (millions)
Population by Region
0
2,500
5,000
7,500
10,000
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
(mill
ions
)
Asia Africa EuropeLatin America Northern America Oceania
Northern America
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
319
335
352
368383
398410
421431
440448
*excludes Mexico
Consumption Rates
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
1965 1975 1985 1998 2015 2030
3500344033803206
30652947 305029402803
265524352358
Average Daily Per Capita
kilo
calo
ries
(fo
od c
alor
ies)
Global Industrialized Countries
Global Total Daily Consumption
0
7.5
15
22.5
30
1965 1975 1985 1998 2015 2030
25.3
21.4
16.7
12.8
9.917.86
tera
calo
ries
(10
^12
calo
ries
)
25.3 teracalories = .106 exajoules (1018 joules)
Energy Consumption
Relative Energy
1 Day Consumption (2030)
Tsar Bomba (50 megaton)
Japanese Earthquake (9.0 Richter)
1 Month Consumption (2030) 3.18
1.41
0.2
0.106
exajoules (1018 joules)
Aquaculture
Aquaculture Issues• Solid Waste and Effluent Pollution
• uneaten food and waste fall to the ocean floor and build up
• bacteria attempt to break down the sediment, lowering O2 in the water
• Baggiatoa form in absence of O2 and HSO4 and CH4 are released through anaerobic decomposition – toxic
Aquaculture Issues
• Chemical Pollution
• antifoulants incorporated into the materials of the netpens leach into the water – toxic to some sea life
• pesticides used to control parasites effective at very low levels – deadly to crustaceans like the sea lice they seek to destroy
Aquaculture Issues• Solid Waste and Effluent Pollution
• effluents rich in nitrogen and phosphorous lead to algae blooms which die and add to the sediments below
• Chemical Pollution
• antibiotics active in water hundreds of meters away from netpens for months – harmful to CNS, liver and promote antibiotic-resistance
Aquaculture Issues
• Escapees may
• compete with native species for space and food
• may spread parasites or disease to native species or other aquaculture facilities
GM Aquaculture
• fish grow more rapidly – food, pesticides, antibiotics used at a greater rate and/or greater quantities as pens have higher turnover rates
• escapees may be significantly more harmful due to their increased space and food requirements
Aquaculture Issues
• Escapees may
• interbreed
• hybridizatize
Existing Laws
• Animal Protection
• Nonindigenous and/or Invasive
• Major environmental laws
Animal Protection
• Animal Health Protection Act
• protects “livestock” (farm-raised animals) or related industries
• from “pests” or “any organism…allied”
• regulates pest “articles” – harbor “pests”
Animal Protection
• Animal Health Protection Act
• prohibits “export” via “move”
• “export” – extra territorial or interstate move
• “move” – includes “release to environment”
Animal Protection
• Animal Health Protection Act
• GM salmon may be pests through alliance with actual pests (eg. sea lice)
• GM salmon may be “articles” as they harbor pests or “disease”
• “disease” broadly interpreted by the secretary…gene transmission?
Animal Protection
• Animal Damage Control Act
• originally passed to contol damage from wildlife predators
• protects fisheries and aquaculture
• GM salmon may exhibit predatory characteristics, causing loss to fishery and aquaculture operations
Nonindigenous/Invasive
• Nonindegenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act
• purpose to prevent unintentional spread of nonindigenous species through ballast water or other pathways
Nonindigenous/Invasive
• Nonindegenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, amended by National Invasive Species Act
• “nonindigenous species” any species or viable bilogical material that enters an ecosystem beyond its historic range
Nonindigenous/Invasive
• Nonindegenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act
• “aquatic nuisance species” nonindgenous species that threatens diversity and abundance of native species or ecological stability of infested waters, or commercial, aquacultural…activities
Nonindigenous/Invasive
• Nonindegenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act
• creates inter-agency task force to identify and prevent the nonindigenous and nuisance aquatic species
Nonindigenous/Invasive
• Nonindegenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act
• Michigan v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2010)
• multiple states – Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania sued Corps to take action under prevent Asian Carp from entering Great Lakes
Nonindigenous/Invasive
• Executive Order 13112
• creates another inter-agency body – the Invasive Species Council
• designed to prevent introduction of invasive species and if introduced, respond to control their populations
Environmental Laws
• Clean Water Act
• individual fish (or humans/animals) are not “point sources”
• netpens, however, have been found to be “point sources”
• feces, urine, antifoulants, other additives, pesticides, antibiotics – all “pollutants”
Environmental Laws
• Clean Water Act
• United States Public Interest Research Group v. Atlantic Salmon of Maine, LLC
• found non-native fish to be “pollutants” within the meaning of the CWA
• proof that pollutant causes harm not required
Environmental Laws
• Endangered Species Act
• potential takings due to effects of aquaculture facilities in general, and in the estimation of some (GM salmon even riskier more resource-intensive than regular aquaculture), more pronounced
Existing Laws
Destructive Nonindigenous Neither
Animal Protection
NI or Invasive
CWA
ESA
Potential Criminal Penalties
Thanks. Questions?