GENETIC FISH THREATEN NATURAL FISH STOCKS

20 January 2000

MONTREAL -- Genetically engineered (GE) fish pose a severe threat to wild fish populations says a Greenpeace report published today. Fish, genetically engineered to grow faster, could spread their foreign DNA to wild fish, destroying entire populations. According to Greenpeace, the threat posed by GE fish highlights the need for tight international rules to control commercial releases of genetically engineered organisms (GMOs).

"The commercialisation of GE fish is few steps away and we are only starting to understand the risks involved," said Michael Khoo of Greenpeace. "There are no regulation in Canada and the US where GE fish is presently hatched in containers. The delegates from 140 countries opening the Biosafety Protocol negotiations in Montreal today should study this report carefully and make the proper conclusions."

The commercial development of GE fish has mainly concentrated on making fish grow faster and larger. However, according to scientific modelling done at Purdue University in the US (1), just a small number of growth-enhanced GE fish could eradicate large populations of wild fish. Larger, GE fish attract more mates and quickly spread their characteristics throughout the population. However, the offspring of these fish have reduced reproductive capability and so reduce the health of the entire population.

The study was published on the opening day of the Biosafety Protocol meeting which is scheduled to run till January 28. The meeting will try to adopt rules on transboundary movement of GMOs. An earlier round of negotiations in February last year in Cartagena, Colombia, failed to reach an agreement due to strong opposition from the main grain exporting countries: Canada, the US, Argentina, Uruguay and Australia.

"Canada and the US have torpedoed every attempt to get a strong Biosafety Protocol," said Khoo. "Government representatives gathering in Montreal have their last chance to find a solution and we urge them not to fail. Industrialised countries like European Union member states have a responsibility to make it happen."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Michael Khoo, Greenpeace Genetic Engineering Campaigner, +1 416 569 8408 or
- Mika Railo, Greenpeace International Press Officer in Montreal, +31 6 21296908

The Greenpeace report "Genetically Engineered Fish: Swimming Against the Tide of Reason" and daily updates from the Montreal Biosafety meeting are available on the Greenpeace website: www.greenpeace.org/~geneng/highlights/bio/montreal.htm

(1) Muir WM, Howard RD (1999) Possible ecological risks of transgenic organism release when transgenes affect mating success: sexual selection and the Trojan gene hypothesis. PNAS 96:13853-13856