October 2, 2024, Halifax – Just four years after its first “harvest” of genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) Atlantic salmon in Canada, the US biotechnology company AquaBounty is selling its on-land GM fish factory at Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island, Canada.(1) Local community groups have confirmed that AquaBounty’s factory is now closed.(2)

“We never wanted genetically modified salmon and we’re relieved the company has shut down production,” said Sharon Labchuk of Earth Action PEI.

AquaBounty is not currently producing any genetically modified salmon.

AquaBounty owes $2.2 million to the Government of Prince Edward Island from a loan provided to assist construction of the building that is now for sale. In total, over $8 million was invested by the federal and provincial governments through multiple grants and loans.(3)

“Millions of our public money was wasted to support this worthless, dangerous genetically modified fish,” said Leo Broderick of The Council of Canadians-PEI Chapter which is also a member of the coalition GMO Free PEI that fought to stop the GM salmon in PEI.

In February 2023, AquaBounty announced that it would no longer produce GM salmon at Rollo Bay, and in September 2024 the company announced that the building is for sale. However, as recently as December 2023, the federal government provided AquaBounty with up to $612,000 to support “business productivity and scale-up” at Rollo Bay, and on February 29, 2024, provided AquaBounty with a loan of $158,246, at a 3% interest rate.(4)

“The federal and provincial governments should never have funded this technology that puts wild salmon at risk and jeopardizes the funding and efforts these same governments are putting into restoring and protecting wild Atlantic salmon. This was a poor use of taxpayers’ money and governments should recoup our money,” says Mark Butler, Senior Advisor with Nature Canada.

The Canadian facility was one of two sites run by AquaBounty. Both are now closed. The second, in Indiana, US, was sold earlier this year to the company Superior Fresh that only uses non-GM fish and non-GM fish food.(5) AquaBounty says it will use funds from the building sales to finance construction of a bigger GM salmon factory in Ohio. However, construction in Ohio has been on hold since June 2023.

“This was always going to be a biotech boondoggle. Genetically modifying fish is unnecessary and unwanted,” said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network which has been tracking AquaBounty for over ten years.

The genetically modified salmon was the first-ever genetically modified food animal sold in the world. There is no mandatory labelling of GM foods in Canada for consumers.

For more information:
Sharon Labchuk, Earth Action PEI +1 902 626 7327
Leo Broderick, Council of Canadians-PEI Chapter +1 902 316 2921
Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network +1 902 2029 4906, coordinator@cban.ca
Mark Butler, Nature Canda, +1 902-266-5401 mbutler@naturecanada.ca

See CBAN’s media backgrounder, September 2024, www.cban.ca/GMsalmonupdate2024
www.cban.ca/fish

NOTES:
(1) AquaBounty, News release. AquaBounty Technologies Provides Update, September 3, 2024. https://investors.aquabounty.com/news-releases/news-release-details/aquabounty-technologies-provides-update
(2) See photos posted at www.cban.ca/fish
(3) Christopher Pollon, How Canadians Bankrolled the World’s First Genetically Engineered Food Animal, Vice, March 21, 2018. https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-canadians-bankrolled-the-worlds-first-genetically-engineered-food-animal/ and CBAN’s background www.cban.ca/GMsalmonupdate2024
(4) Both loans were provided by the federal Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). See AquaBounty’s 10-K report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, for the quarterly period ending June 30, 2024. https://investors.aquabounty.com/static-files/351f0f61-d86b-4179-81e4-63125559c27b
(5) See Superior Fresh https://www.superiorfresh.com/fish

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) brings together 15 groups to research, monitor and raise awareness about issues relating to genetic engineering in food and farming. CBAN members include farmer associations, environmental and social justice organizations, and regional coalitions of grassroots groups. CBAN is a project of MakeWay’s shared platform. www.cban.ca/fish

GMO Free PEI is a coalition of community groups in Prince Edward Island that works with concerned islanders to stop the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The coalition has been active since 2001 and includes Earth Action PEI, The Council of Canadians-PEI Chapter, and the MacKillop Centre for Social Justice in P.E.I.

Nature Canada is one of the oldest national nature conservation charities in Canada. For 80 years, Nature Canada has helped protect over 110 million acres of parks and wildlife areas in Canada and countless species. Today, Nature Canada represents a network of over 130,000 members and supporters and more than 1,000 nature organizations. www.naturecanada.ca