Here's some info on "Frankenfish" you might find interesting.

!
> > What Happens To These Ordinary Salmon If The Genetically Modified
Lunkers
> > Ever Get Loose?
> > BY FREDERIC GOLDEN
> >
> > These salmon are siblings, yet one grew spectacularly, thanks to a gene
> > transplant
> >
> > Whether served as raw sushi, grilled steak or in thin smoked slices,
most of
> > the salmon you eat these days is not the sleek sport fish that has been
a
> > favorite of anglers since Izaak Walton but rather a chunky, sluggish
> > creature raised in captivity. Indeed, salmon caught in the wild accounts
for
> > less than half of all salmon sold in the U.S.
> >
> > Now gene splicers have cooked up a replacement that sounds like a fish
tale:
> > a veritable superfish, one that can grow at least twice as fast, resist
> > disease and outmate competitors. If approved, it could provide protein
to
> > millions of people at a time when fish stocks are perilously low. But as
you
> > might expect, some critics are carping. They consider the supersalmon a
> > biological time bomb that could destroy the remaining natural salmon
> > populations and wreak other environmental havoc. To them, the
supersalmon is
> > nothing less than a "Frankenfish."
> >
> > Unlike other genetically modified foods--so-called Frankenfoods--the
> > supersalmon was born almost accidentally. About 20 years ago, a fish
> > researcher in Newfoundland found that even though his saltwater tank had
> > frozen, the flounder in it survived. Adapted to icy Canadian waters, the
> > fish turned out to have a gene, known in other polar fishes, that
produces
> > an anti-freeze protein. While trying to splice this gene into salmon so
it
> > too could be grown in colder waters, scientists made a second accidental
> > discovery: they found that while the gene didn't keep the salmon from
> > freezing, a portion of it, when stitched onto a salmon's growth-hormone
> > gene, greatly speeded development--up to five or six times as fast as in
the
> > early months and about twice as fast overall. Patenting their discovery,
the
> > scientists started a company in Waltham, Mass., called A/F Protein (A/F
> > stands for antifreeze).
> >
> > The company has 10,000 to 20,000 Atlantic supersalmon swimming in
endless
> > circles in 136 tanks at three locations in Canada's Maritime provinces.
The
> > hope is that these fish will soon be producing eggs for commercial
> > aquaculture not just in Canada but in New Zealand, Chile and the U.S. as
> > well. By turning to the supersalmon, says Elliot Entis, A/F's president,
> > fish farmers could double production without doubling costs because the
fish
> > converts food into body mass so much more efficiently than ordinary
salmon.
> > That, he says, would mean "more fish for more people at a lower price."
> >
> > But this so-called blue revolution may not reach U.S. shores for a
while.
> > Although gene scientists in the U.S. have been tinkering with a variety
of
> > marine creatures--not only salmon and trout but also carp, catfish,
tilapia
> > and shrimp--these efforts are drawing criticism similar to that directed
at
> > genetically modified foods. Opponents, who complain about the
fertilizers
> > and other pollutants released into coastal waters by the fish farms, are
> > especially concerned about the potential impact on the gene pool. They
note
> > that domesticated fish regularly escape from their pens into the wild
and
> > breed with native stocks, upsetting the balance of nature.
> >
> > No one knows what ripple effects might occur if the new supersalmon
escaped
> > into the wild. One of the few studies done by U.S. researchers found a
lower
> > survival rate for eggs produced by transgenic fish. Still other studies
show
> > that despite their name, so-called superfish have diminished muscle
> > structure and swimming performance. Says Canadian fish geneticist Robert
> > Devlin: "Science, at the moment, is unable to give us a reliable
assessment
> > of risk."
> >
> > Entis and others reply that whatever the risk, it could be lowered to
almost
> > zero by raising the fish in closed tanks rather than in storm-exposed
pens.
> > Still another tactic under consideration is shocking the fertilized eggs
so
> > they create fish that cannot reproduce--a marine equivalent of the
> > self-destructing terminator gene that Monsanto once considered putting
in
> > its patented plant seeds.
> >
> > Fearing a consumer backlash, New Zealand King Salmon, a major producer
of
> > Chinook salmon--the largest Pacific salmon--announced last week that it
was
> > suspending its gene-modification experiments. Entis, by contrast,
believes
> > he can win acceptance of his supersalmon through public education. "We
have
> > to show we have nothing to hide," he says.
> >
> > But don't count on putting supersalmon lox on your Sunday-morning bagel
> > anytime soon. The Food and Drug Administration must first approve
> > introduction of the fish into the U.S., something that probably won't
happen
> > before 2001.