Super salmon may get ‘OK’ from FDA

Genetically modified salmon may be on Americans’ dinner plates soon if the Food & Drug Administration approves a quick-growth gene that could cause salmon to reach their target weight in half the time, according to The New York Times and other media outlets.

AquaBounty Technologies has developed a procedure that involves injecting female Atlantic salmon eggs with genetic material from the Pacific Chinook salmon and a fish called the ocean pout that cause the salmon to grow to their mature weight as early as 16 months. It usually takes three years. If approved, it would be the first transgenic animal application to ever hit American supermarkets.

The Boston-based research company has been trying to get the super salmon approved for nearly two decades and says it is safe to eat. The fish will be raised in farms and are sterile so they cannot breed with wild fish if they escape.