It’s nothing Alaska can let slip away.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced a new bill to require labeling of fake salmon, aka Frankenfish or genetically engineered salmon.
This is a continuing effort to protect Alaska’s wild stock from that of the fake variety.
The Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act, sponsored by Murkowski in cooperation with Washington and Oregon senators, requires genetically engineered salmon be labeled “genetically engineered” or “GE.”
The act also requires that the Food and Drug Administration ensure a third-party, independent scientific review of its environmental assessment of all genetically engineered fish, including salmon, that is intended for human consumption, according to a Murkowski press release.
“The primary purpose of this bill is to ensure that consumers have all the facts and can make an informed decision when they are purchasing salmon,” says Murkowski. “There’s a huge difference between Frankenfish and the wild, healthy, sustainably caught, delicious real thing, and I want to make sure folks are aware of that. I will not accept that this fake fish will be sold in stores without clear labeling.”
Murkowski also notes the risk of fish being created in labs escaping from lab pens at hatcheries and mixing with wild stocks. It would be devastating to wild fish, the states that manage them and the fishermen who harvest them. The lab fish should be evaluated based on the potential for them to contaminate the wild stocks, and every effort made to prevent this from happening.
Murkowski has been joined by Sen. Dan Sullivan in this effort of protecting Alaska’s wild salmon and educating the public about the inferiority of farmed fish.
It’s an effort supported by most Alaskans. We like our salmon wild, and we want to protect the vital fishing industry in Alaska.
—Ketchikan Daily News, July 26, 2017
