Genetically Modified Carp
~ How Far Away Are GM Carp ? ~
I’m all for embrasing technologogy when it is for the betterment of mankind, such as certain GM crops to help feed our ever increasing population. But I, like many other’s, have some concerns about altering genetics when it comes to animals. This is an interesting article about the genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon:
According to this article GM salmon are not far away from our dinner plate, once this legislation has been approved; which no doubt it will be… if it hasn’t been already? Some questions that come to my mind from all this are: “what other species with we see this happen to? Will this gene-altering extend to recreational species? And most of all, what is the likelihood, if any, of fish genes mutating?” They say in this article that the salmon stop growing when they’ve reached maturity… will this always be the case I wonder?
If we see in the future GM sportfish, such as carp being introduced into carp fisheries, will they be accepted by the hard-core carpers? Importing foreign carp in to British waterways is still controversial, despite being an accepted practice for many years by fishery owners to boost stock and breed bigger, faster growing specimens to meet current angling demands.
Imagine a super-sized model of this freshwater man eater!!!
It is going to be very interesting to see if we’ll end up catching gene-altered carp in our home waters one day? From my own fishing exploits I’ve seen some amazing deformity’s and hybridization of fish. Once other genes are introduced into the equation, what will some of the possible outcomes be?
As a small kid I vividly remember an episode, (don’t laugh) of Thunderbirds. Where some scientists had developed a growth hormone, which was spilt into a sink, eventually ending up up in a Florida swamp full of aligators. The aligators then miracuously grew into Godzilla sized giants, who terrorised the scientists, which ultimately led them to call for assistance from International Rescue. Even back then, over forty years ago, the fanciful prospect of artificially growing monster creatures had been conceived. Now it seems we are stepping a little closer to the reality of some gene-tweaked monster freshwater fish!
Check out the gnashers on this Goliath Tiger Fish, one of the worlds most dangerous bitey freshwater inhabitants, next to crocodiles and aligators. I wouldn’t ever want to see a giant GM version of him!!!
Happy (non-GM) hippo hunting 
Niblet
Hmmm, monster fish. Im happy that we in our country dont have fishs like that.
How Far Away Are GM Carp ?
So what’s an F1 then? They are already here GM carp.Crossed king carp with crucian but done under laboratory conditions over and over until they have found the right genetic make up for these F1′s.These carp are geneticaly modified.Great article by the way thought provoking to anyone who cares about these things.
Hi Chris,
Yes, I agree with what your saying, and I’m aware of that. For centuries koi breeders have paired fish for their colours, and monks bred carp to be scale-less for the table.
My point was that we have all been bamboozled in one way or another to accept GM foods and animals as being quite normal in today’s society. Is it though? Where will it end? I think its a fair bet, that in time it’ll come back and bite us in the arse for continuing to haphazardly mess with nature for a quick fix or quick buck!