Transgenic Fish and Public Policy: Anticipating Environmental Impacts of Transgenic Fish

Transfer of novel genes into fishes introduces a number of contentious issues into public policy debate among fisheries scientists and regulatory authorities. In the context of the technical status of development of transgenic strains of fishes, we discuss anticipated ecological impacts of releasing such fishes into natural environments. The major determinant of ecological impacts of transgenic fishes will be the phenotypic effect of the inserted genes. Three conceptual classes of phenotypic changes are anticipated, including changes in physiological rates, behavior, or tolerance of physical factors. The complex interactions among organisms and abiotic resources in aquatic communities suggest that it will be very difficult to predict ecosystem impacts of transgenic fishes. Based on current understanding of community‐level impacts of stocking non‐transgenic piscivorous fish, the release of certain transgenic fishes, particularly those exhibiting substantially altered performance, could destabilize and eventually reorganize ecosystems. The release of sterilized transgenic fishes would reduce but not completely remove long‐term environmental risks, because lags in detection of ecosystem alterations resulting from large numbers of such fish are inevitable and could lead to disturbances that are irreversible or expensive to correct. We identify major research needs for formulation of quantitative risk analysis protocols and suggest items to include in a position statement on transgenic fishes for adoption by the American Fisheries Society.