Falling fish population across the world are prompting innovators to look to the lab to find new ways at producing inexpensive fish products. Globally, demand for salmon has skyrocketed, along with demand for all fish, fueling overfishing and threatening the stocks of many fisheries. Fish and seafood now account for almost a fifth of the animal protein people consume making the need for a solution to a potential seafood shortage urgent. Maynard, United States based AquaBounty Technologies is hoping its genetically modified version of Atlantic salmon, which is says grows twice as fast as normal salmon, will soon become a top consumer choice. The company raises the salmon in land-based production systems that eliminate the various risks to wild fish, humans and the environment posed by farmed salmon.
Perhaps a step beyond Maynard, the United States based company Wild Type is investing in lab-grown fish. Wild Type can currently produce small pieces of salmon that cannot be heated above 100 degrees Celsius. In the coming months company hopes to create a salmon product that can withstand heat. Laboratory-raised salmon, however, still has a long way to go, with a single piece of Wild Type salmon for a sushi roll costing $200.