We have confirmation that, after over twenty years of protest, GM salmon has been shut down. The company AquaBounty has officially announced it is ending production of genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) salmon and closing down its last working operation.
Yesterday鈥檚 announcement from the company comes just weeks after the federal and provincial governments announced new funding for AquaBounty, and just days after CBAN sent our letter objecting to this new public funding and asking for an investigation into government decision-making.
Thank you to everyone who took action and supported the campaign.聽
The closure of AquaBounty鈥檚 last facility in PEI is the end of two decades of protest by dedicated community volunteers on the Island along with environmental and consumer groups across Canada and the world. Our full press release is below.
GM Salmon Company AquaBounty Shuts Down Operations
Thursday, December 12, 2024.
The troubled biotechnology company AquaBounty has announced it will stop production of all and is closing its last working facility, at Bay Fortune in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada.
鈥淲e鈥檙e glad to see the back of this company after over twenty years of our protests against genetically modified food,鈥� said Sharon Labchuk of GMO Free PEI.
AquaBounty released the world鈥檚 first GM food animal 鈥� a GM salmon 鈥� onto the market in 2017 but is now culling the last of its fish. Yesterday, that it does not have sufficient liquidity to maintain its 鈥渙nly remaining operating farm鈥� at Bay Fortune and its Chief Executive Officer, David Melboure, has resigned.(1)
鈥淭his struggling company has survived largely due to investor hype along with decades of government funding and the support of the federal policy to deny consumers mandatory labelling of GM food. The company couldn鈥檛 make producing GM salmon viable even with all the government subsidies and supportive policies,鈥� said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN).
The company鈥檚 announcement comes just weeks after the federal and PEI governments announced $231,095 in joint.(2) Just last week, to this use of funds and request a review of government decision-making in continued funding for AquaBounty.(3) AquaBounty still owes the Government of Prince Edward Island at least $1.5-million from a 2018 loan of $2.7-million.
鈥淎nd so ends a science experiment which never should have started because of the risk to wild Atlantic salmon. As they shut their operations in PEI, we encourage the company to ensure that all genetically modified fish and eggs are safely culled to ensure there is no risk of escape in the closing days,鈥� says Mark Butler, Senior Advisor at Nature Canada.
In February 2023, AquaBounty announced it was closing its purpose-built GM salmon production facility at Rollo Bay, PEI, and put the building up for sale in September 2024. In July 2024, the company sold its other major GM salmon production facility, in Indiana, US. The company is now shutting down its remaining, smaller facility at Bay Fortune in PEI which it said would be used to produce GM salmon eggs for its not-yet-built facility in Ohio, US. Construction of the Ohio site has been on hold since 2023 and AquaBounty now says it is assessing 鈥渁lternatives for our Ohio farm project鈥� while the company continues to sell its assets.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Sharon Labchuk, GMO Free PEI +1 902 626 7327
Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network +1 902 209 4906, coordinator@cban.ca
Mark Butler, Nature Canada, +1 902-266-5401 mbutler@naturecanada.ca
NOTES:
(1) AquaBounty, Press Release: , December 11, 2024.
(2) Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Press Release: , November 13, 2024.
(3) Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, December 2, 2024.
BACKGROUND:
December 2, 2024 鈥� Press release:
October 2, 2024 鈥� Press release: