Changes

Prior to FDA approval, the AquAdvantage was required to undergo an environmental assessment. One of the main concerns addressed in the assessment is the potential for the GE salmon to escape into the wild, particularly if it would be able to survive there and compete with wild populations and/or interbreed with wild populations.<ref>[http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/VeterinaryMedicineAdvisoryCommittee/UCM224760.pdf Environmental Assessment for AquAdvantage Salmon (Aqua Bounty Technologies, Inc.) (PDF - 1095KB)], Food and Drug Administration, August 25, 2010.</ref>

"Differences appear to occur in the scale of trait expression rather than in the scope or character of the trait expressed. Major behavioral changes in GH-transgenic fish include significantly enhanced feeding motivation, increased predation mortality, reduced discrimination of prey choice, and reduced schooling tendency (Devlin et al., 2006). The complexity of the interactions between these effects and, in turn, their interactions with the environment, makes it difficult to predict the overall fitness of GH-transgenic salmon in the environment relative to their wild counterparts."

In other words, the fast-growing transgenic salmon is more aggressive and less picky in pursuing food. Due to the high oxygen and food needs of the GE fish, the EA predicts the GE salmon would be less likely to survive in the wild compared to a non-GE Atlantic salmon:

"Although these AquAdvantage relatives have demonstrated an ability to reduce their metabolic rate in response to starvation, their enhanced metabolic profile and lower initial energy reserves greatly reduce the likelihood of their growing rapidly, or even surviving, outside of the highly supportive conditions provided by commercial farming (Hallerman et al., 2007)."

=== Biological Containment ===