The company pioneering the growth of genetically modified salmon in Canada is telling its investors it is harvesting and selling fish produced at its plant in Prince Edward Island.
AquaBounty’s salmon represent the first genetically modified fish to be harvested and sold in Canada.
The company said in its third-quarter results released Thursday that it has harvested 84 metric tonnes of salmon from its plants in P.E.I. and in the United States, generating US$402,000 in revenues.
AquaBounty says in an email all the fish grown in P.E.I. was sold in Canada through seafood distributors, but doesn’t disclose further details.
The company’s Atlantic salmon are injected with DNA from other fish species that makes them grow faster, with some estimates indicating they will reach market size at twice the speed of unmodified salmon.
Environmental groups have been critical of Ottawa for not requiring the company to label the salmon as genetically modified, adding that the fish may escape and pose risks to wild salmon stocks.
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has said the company’s salmon has been evaluated by Health Canada and can be sold in the country without labelling.
The company’s report to investors says harvests at the Indiana and P.E.I. farms commenced in June, adding that weekly output is “ramping up steadily.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2021.
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