Firstly, Glofish pose no threat to the environment. Upon the introduction and development of Glofish, the main environmental concerns surrounding them were whether they would survive if released into the wild, whether they would act as an invasive species and damage their new habitat, and whether the consumption of Glofish by another species would result in a mutation or other harmful effects (Hackett, 2003). According to several prominent scientists in the field of transgenic, each of these concerns would be answered in the negative. The gene that allows Glofish to fluoresce places more demand on other functions in the fish, resulting in an organism that is less physically hardy than its unmodified counterpart (Gong, 2003). Additionally, Glofish are tropical fish. If they were to be released into the wild, they would likely die from exposure to cold temperatures. Although zebrafish have been grown and sold in the United States for a relatively long time, there are no records of new wild populations of zebrafish being established, and therefore it is unlikely that Glofish would survive in the wild (Hallerman, 2003). Even if a Glofish managed to live in the wild, it would not impact the ecosystem in any meaningful way. It is unlikely that it would reproduce as it would be the only member of its species. In fact, it would probably be eaten almost immediately because of its bright colouring and decreased fitness. Finally, if the Glofish was eaten, it would not affect the organism which had eaten it. Living things ingest millions of genes every day and are not affected by them because the cells which control reproduction are so closely guarded from mutation. Furthermore, the gene that makes organisms fluoresce is found naturally in many creatures such as jellyfish and sea anemones. This evidence is supported by the United States Food and Drug Administration’s statement that "because tropical aquarium fish are not used for food purposes, they pose no threat to the food supply. There is no evidence that these genetically engineered zebra danio fish pose any more threat to the environment than their unmodified counterparts which have long been widely sold in the United States. In the absence of any clear risk to the public health, the FDA finds no reason to regulate these particular fish." (FDA, 2003) Thus, the Glofish is a harmless species which would not have a negative effect on the environment were it to be released into the wild.
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| Blake, A. (Photographer). (2010). Glofish; going the distance. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.fishchannel.com/glofish.aspx |
