05-12-2003 03:37									#1
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GLOWING FISH JUST TOO HOT FOR CALIFORNIA
`TRANSGENIC' PETS AREN'T WELCOME
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News

Tiny zebra fish that glow bright red are expected to sell like neon hotcakes around the country come January.

But tropical-fish fanciers in California will have to drive out of state or turn to the Web to buy the world's first genetically engineered pet. State regulators banned sales of the trademarked fluorescent GloFish after a hearing Wednesday.

``For me it's a question of values; it's not a question of science,'' said Sam Schuchat, a member of the state Fish and Game Commission. ``I think selling genetically modified fish as pets is wrong.''

California is the only state with a ban on transgenic aquatic species, and the commission refused to make an exception for GloFish, the tropical zebra fish infused with the gene of a sea anemone. Conservation groups and commercial fishers cited concerns that the fish could escape or be released into waterways and cross-breed with other fish. The ban stems from the fear that transgenic farmed fish, such as salmon, could get loose and devastate wild fish populations.

GloFish promoters plan to start selling the fish Jan. 5.

And even at a cost of $10 to $15 each -- $5 wholesale -- sales ``would have been huge,'' said Bill Hughes, owner of the Fish Tank in Sunnyvale.

``This is a fish that every kid would have had in his tank. We would have been selling hundreds a week.''

Opponents of transgenic pets hailed the decision as precedent-setting as they lobby for regulation on the national level. Without federal regulation, said Rebecca Spector of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the nation may be facing ``a new era of unregulated transgenic pets.''

Fish-store owners said the ban will slow down the fad in California a bit -- just long enough to order one on the Internet or drive to another state to buy a glowing red fish.

``I had a customer come in a couple of hours ago who said, `As soon as they're available, I want one,' '' Brian Clemons, owner of Brian's Fish World in San Jose, said Wednesday night. ``Instead of banning things, they should regulate them a little better.''

Originally, the fish were developed by researchers in Singapore to help detect the presence of water pollutants by changing color. But entrepreneurs quickly sniffed the potential for hot fish sales.

``Customers have been bringing me articles from the paper and calling to ask about them,'' said Hughes, the Sunnyvale store owner. ``These fish will be all over California from the Internet. It's the local fish store that gets hurt.''


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Stupid. I want to engineer my own pet! I want my dog not to shed unless I tell it to! Or maybe one with a built in bottle opener!

Really, this is cool, and is another reason that Californians are just plain stupid and will get left behind with genetic engineering. Makes me mad to see.

	05-12-2003 03:43									#2
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is this good or bad? give me a lecture in moralty. thanks.

	05-12-2003 03:44									#3
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Anyone know the impact if they are released in the wild?

	05-12-2003 03:46									#4
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amen. it's only the local business that will be hurt by that. it's like what games-workshop is trying to do...

	05-12-2003 03:47									#5
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No impact around here. All the fish that come from the Bay already glow

But, I think rah's point is more valid than morality...

	05-12-2003 03:49									#6
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yeah. but if they're engineered to glow under certian conditions, and those are met, they won't get much of a chance to breed, and spread the genes around. that's why you almost never see albino or leucistic animals in the wild.

	05-12-2003 03:52									#7
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A bright red glowing fish that's using energy to be bright red and glowing that it could otherwise use to, say, swim away from bigger, less glowing fish probably wouldn't last too long in the wild.

	05-12-2003 04:02									#8
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quote: Originally posted by rah Anyone know the impact if they are released in the wild?

In all California waters, they'd almost certainly die very quickly due to temperature and mineral content differences. The effects in the scavenger food chain would most likely be non-existent as well.

However, the Cal. Dept. of Fish & Game is extremely leery of that type of non-native species issue, because African clawed frogs and a bunch of other non-native species that have made it into the wild have done real major damage to a lot of ecosystems within the state, including many with high commercial value.

On the "moral" issue, as a fairly avid aquarist with a lot of experience and some very healthy specimins, I tend to agree with the DFG ruling - any time there is a "fashion" pet, huge numbers of them get bought by people who are ignorant and will stay ignorant of how to properly care for them. When Disney released Finding Nemo, you had a market boon for Clownfish, but they're not easy to raise, saltwater tanks are a ***** for the inexperienced, and people got bored or got sick of killing the fish every week, and spending tons of money on aquarium stuff they didn't need, or know how to use.

I wouldn't personally buy one, because with the modification, it's not clear yet in schooling studies and in studies with related community fish if or how the unusual pigmentation and lighting affects the fishes' stress levels and behavior, and what impact that has on their overall health.

	05-12-2003 04:07									#9
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yes, but if the people at the pet stores were doing their jobs correctly, they'd be helping those without the experience for the salt tanks. when i was working for Herpeton, i gave my home number to a few people trying on a more involved animal for size. i never got a call, because i gave them everything they could possibly need to know.

as for the schooling studies... it might be interesting to participate in such a study... if only i had the time and money to do so.

	05-12-2003 04:15									#10
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quote: Originally posted by self biased yes, but if the people at the pet stores were doing their jobs correctly, they'd be helping those without the experience for the salt tanks. when i was working for Herpeton, i gave my home number to a few people trying on a more involved animal for size. i never got a call, because i gave them everything they could possibly need to know. as for the schooling studies... it might be interesting to participate in such a study... if only i had the time and money to do so.

They should be doing their jobs, but whenever you have a flood of buyers, the stores really aren't prepared for it, and like most businesses, pet fish is really becoming dominated by large mass-market chains with low staff count and minimal to moderately skilled staff.

	05-12-2003 04:23									#11
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i guess i was lucky to work somewhere that had well trained staff (i.e. the entire AVS library in the bathroom), and i guess they were lucky to have someone as knowlegeable as me, working for them. ::shrugs::

	05-12-2003 04:38									#12
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MtG: people are stupid. So what?

	05-12-2003 04:49									#13
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The effects on their behavior are unknown?

there is only one way to find out.

	05-12-2003 23:41									#14
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i hope they taste good. i like sushi.

glowing sushi..... MMmmmmm

	06-12-2003 00:26									#15
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	06-12-2003 00:29									#16
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that caught my eye too...