State Lawmakers Seek to Bar Gene-Altered Fish

California lawmakers, environmentalists and fishermen are joining together to stop the spread of genetically engineered fish into the state.

Two bills and a joint resolution recently introduced in the Legislature would bar live gene-altered fish from entering the state or require special labeling when sold in California stores.

California would be the second U.S. state to take action. A less stringent Maryland law adopted last year bans the fish from state’s network of waterways but allows them in separated ponds and lakes.

Federal action in Maine also has declared these new types of fish off-limits to protect the endangered Atlantic salmon.

“I would call this [legislation] a preemptive strike,” said Karen Reyna of the Ocean Conservancy, which is concerned that transgenic salmon and other fish could escape from ocean pens and breed with unaltered salmon, shortening their life spans and reducing their numbers.

Several East Coast firms are trying to develop stocks of transgenic salmon and catfish to be sold to fish farmers. These fish, spliced with genes from faster-growing species, would let farmers get bigger fish to market for less money.

A representative of the aquaculture business in California said his members are still studying the technology and haven’t taken a position on the measures.

“There could be many social benefits in having some form of genetic engineering,” said Justin Malan, executive director of the California Aquaculture Assn.

Malan noted that some interspecies hybridization already has occurred naturally.

“Just look at the hybrid striped bass,” Malan said. “Sharing genes between species can occur in the wild.”

The concern of scientists is that these large fish, which have a mating advantage in the wild, would produce offspring ill-equipped to survive. Some research has shown that genetically altered fish die earlier than those unaltered.

Conservationists said there are inadequate state and federal regulations to protect native fish populations and the heath of humans.

Under SB 1525, sponsored by state Sen. Byron Sher (D-Stanford), genetically engineered salmon and other fish would be classified as an aquatic nuisance species. People convicted of possessing live transgenic fish or planting them into state waters could be subject to a fine of up to $50,000.

A bill in the Assembly, AB 2962, would require labeling of all transgenic fish in supermarkets.