I am not against the state government’s initiative to open up an Aqua Technology Park at Kadungalloor. As long as long as the breeding and rearing technology of ornate fishes, hybridization, biotechnological applications, etc. do not jeopardize our plans to conserve the freshwater species of Kerala, I do not oppose any enterprise, private or governmental, to experiment, produce and export ornamental fish from Kerala.
The recent introduction of genetically modified freshwater fish to the lucrative pet markets is really highjacking our attempts to preserve the precious species of our nation which are already on the verge of extinction. It could usher in a new era of unregulated transgenic pets which could disrupt the ecological equilibrium and lead to the extinction of our native fish.
The tropical Zebra fish, which is indigenous to India and Bangladesh, has been infused with the gene of a sea anemone that makes it glow a fluorescent red. Promoters of the fish, which has been trademarked GloFish, want to market it as the country’s first transgenic pet.
The recent introduction of genetically modified freshwater fish to the lucrative pet markets is really highjacking our attempts to preserve the precious species of our nation which are already on the verge of extinction. It could usher in a new era of unregulated transgenic pets which could disrupt the ecological equilibrium and lead to the extinction of our native fish.
The tropical Zebra fish, which is indigenous to India and Bangladesh, has been infused with the gene of a sea anemone that makes it glow a fluorescent red. Promoters of the fish, which has been trademarked GloFish, want to market it as the country’s first transgenic pet.
Under no circumstance, new hybrid or transgenic fish or foreign species should be introduced to the inland water bodies of Kerala, unless to fight any genetic diseases proven in our indigenous species.
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