State's ban on gene-altered fish a first

State's ban on gene-altered fish a first

By ROBERT MCCLURE

Source: seattle pi

12/22/2002

Washington this month became the first state in the nation to ban cultivation of genetically engineered fish.

"Transgenic" salmon carrying growth genes from another fish can grow twice as fast as normal, significantly cutting costs for aquaculture operations that raise fish in net pens. Eight such fish farms operate in Washington's inland saltwaters.

But the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission was convinced by environmentalists that the risk is too great that altered fish could escape and interbreed with wild fish, ruining a genetic pool shaped by eons of evolution.

"This isn't the genie we want to take out of the bottle," said Shawn Cantrell, Northwest regional director for Friends of the Earth. "There are too many unknowns and possible downsides."