If the salmon is approved, it would be the first genetically-engineered animal approved for human consumption. The approval would likely pave the way for other modified animals to be allowed on the market, including mad cow disease-resistant cattle and pigs that produce healthier bacon.

 

The proposed farmed salmon has been modified to include genes from Chinook salmon and the ocean pout, an eel-like relative of the salmon, causing the fish to grow to full size in 16 to 18 months instead of the usual three years.

 

Although a public meeting on the approval process is expected to be held in the next several months, the salmon would not be available in stores for another two to three years after it is approved.

 

Proponents claim genetically-altered fish could ease pressure on endangered seafood populations; wild Atlantic salmon populations are so low, commercial fishing for the species is banned, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

 

However, salmon farms have been criticised for polluting natural habitats, as waste from the pens and cages are often released directly into surrounding waterways, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's website. Escaped farmed fish can also harm wild populations through spreading diseases and parasites. Critics worry the modified fish would cause even greater environmental damage.

 

The company would only sell salmon eggs to farms using inland-tanks, and other closed systems, where they would be unlikely to escape into the wild, said Ronald L. Stotish, the chief executive of AquaBounty.