14 DAY TRIAL // Even if from a distance it looks like a normal salmon, the genetically modified species has been developed in a secret research facility in Panama, called AquaBounty, and can grow twice as fast than a normal fish.
The salmon was created after combining genes from two species of fish making it develop faster than normal. The fish contains a growth hormone gene from the chinook salmon, one of the largest salmons in the world, and a gene from an eel-like ocean pout that favors the growth hormone from the first gene, according to Daily Mail.
The effects from the combination of the two genes were discovered in years of research, the firm producing salmons since 1996. This particular combination allows the salmon's metabolism to eat more and grow past a standard size; it's like steroid-induced bodybuilding but for fish.
In an attempt of making it available for mass consumption, researchers and authorities have included certain food regulation stages until approving the fish as fit for sale in supermarkets and restaurants. Canadian authorities were the first to approve the commercial sale of the mutant salmon eggs, and US is still finalizing procedures for the commercialization of the genetically modified meat.
After the approval of the GM salmon, plans are in place to extend the procedure for other types of fish and even chickens, cattle or sheep. This kind of development causes quite some controversy regarding the health issues of the people consuming genetically modified growth hormones and the effect that they can have on human development.
Genetic modification tampering has its down-lows; if this kind of fish ever escaped captivity and share an environment with wild fish, it could be a threat for the latter’s existence. Having a gene that allows it to grow twice as fast as a normal animal, the GM salmons can cause the extinction of other species.