Léo Coutellec

A Multidisciplinary Approach for Anticipating the Presence of Genetically Modified Fish in France

Transgenic aquaculture species with improved growth rates are at the premarket stage in the United States and may be produced in countries with less drastic regulations for environmental protection. The French market is widely supplied by imports from all over the world. Regarding the crisis provoked by plant GMO (genetically modified organisms) production, rumors of the unauthorized importation of GMF (genetically modified fish), even if fortuitous, would undoubtedly have detrimental effects on public confidence, and consequently on fish market and innovation systems. To anticipate such a situation, the DOG.M.ATIS project (2007-2010), funded by the French Research Agency (A.N.R.), proposes to develop dedicated strategies through multidisciplinary approaches and to deliver: A critical analysis of the technological reality and expected evolution of GMF by characterizing the impact of the transgene and transgenesis technique on transgene stability and flow Development of some methodologies and possible routes of GMF detection, based on detection strategies for plants and establishing specific methods for GM fish An assessment of the risk of the fortuitous presence of GM fish in our markets by crossing the data from the scientific literature and an expert analysis of filtered statistics of international trade An assessment of public perception levels, using focus groups for analyzing the opinions of citizens and performing interviews with businesses and NGOs Development of drafts for dedicated regulations and laws, developed based on an analysis of the current regulations for GM organisms and of the gaps existing within the reality of GM fish and the fish market chain A description of examples of GMF and the ethical implications, moving beyond the very classical-theory-driven-scientific descriptions used in the GMO debate up to now DOG.M.ATIS is a network of scientists in various fields: fish genetics and transgenesis, GMO detection, fish market economy, consumer sociology, law, philosophy, and epistemology. We propose to unravel the multiple dimensions of GMF with progressive interdisciplinary approaches that will deliver results to be exploited both by experts in the different disciplines involved and by the overall network.