US Ichthyologists Claim Political Interference

US fisheries scientists are claiming that a supervisor threatened to eliminate their research division after the team had produced controversial model predictions of the survival and recovery of the threatened coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).

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FDA Approves AquaBounty Transgenic Fish

The US FDA has finally approved the first genetically engineered animals for human consumption. The fast-growing salmon has been assessed as safe by the FDA. After 60 days of public comment, the FDA may issue a final assessment and approval, at which time the company AquaBounty, of Maynard, Massachusetts, can start selling the fish.

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Controversy Sparked by Ocean Fertilization Project off Canada’s Coast

Workers on a Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation boat release iron sulphate into the Pacific Ocean. Image by HSRC.

Last July, a chartered fishing boat strewed 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the ocean, off the western coast of Canada. The goal was to supercharge the marine ecosystem. The iron was supposed to fertilize plankton, boost salmon population and sequester carbon. Currently, it’s still unclear whether the ocean responded as hoped, but this project has angered scientists, embarrassed a village of indigenous people and enraged opponents of geoengineering.

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