Glow In The Dark Fish

In the summer of 2003 shops that had little or no background handling marine fish, rushed to fill their tanks with clownfish in the hopes of cashing in on the Finding Nemo craze. For years before that, painted, dyed, and man-made hybrid fish where created to catch the consumers eye, and fatten the pocketbooks of those creating them. Those were the tip of the iceberg - the latest fad has taken designer fish to a whole new level.

How It Started
It started off innocently enough when a professor at National Taiwan University extracted a fluorescent protein from a jellyfish and inserted it into the genome of a zebra fish. He was hoping to make the organs of the zebra fish easier to see when he studied them, but to his amazement, the entire fish began glowing.

Later he presented a slide of his glowing fish at a conference, where it captured the interest of a fish produce company. Seeing its value in the fish sales market, they agreed to fund the professor’s experiments in exchange for use of his techniques. The rest, as they say, is history. Or history in the making, as the story is still unfolding.

The glowing fish, named TK-1 by its creator, is already being sold in the Asian market. A Texas company has announced it will sell it's own version, called the GloFish, in the United States beginning in January of 2004. Not everyone is in favor of marketing the fish, and considerable debate is raging over the ethics and safety of marketing genetically altered fish.

California Ban
Although Federal agencies have stated they have no jurisdiction over bio-engineered pets that are not intended for human consumption, California wasn't about to let the matter pass. In a 3-1 vote, California chose to block sales of GloFish. Opponents are now seeking regulation at the federal level, hoping to block the sale of GloFish completely.

The primary arguments against the fish are environmental and ethical concerns. There is fear that if genetically altered fish were released into local waterways they could harm the environment, or pets might consume them and suffer side effects.

Ethical concerns are just as great. Many feel that selling genetic alerted fish is not only ethically wrong, but it sends the wrong message to children. Others feel that any alteration of a living creature is an abuse of the power we have over life and consider it nothing short of biological pollution. Still others express concerns that if glowing fish becomes popular, what will be next - glow in the dark cats and dogs? Where will the line be drawn?

Proponents
Meanwhile proponents say the fish is completely safe, and is an attractive alternative to keeping colorful, but more expensive and difficult to care for, saltwater fish. They site reports showing that no zebra fish (which are used to create GloFish) have been found in non-native waters. Yorktown Technologies, who is marketing GloFish, has gone so far as to say that sales of the fish will help in the fight against pollution.

No matter which side of the fence you are on, there is no argument that the fish is a hot topic. In January of 2004 when schools of the glowing fish appear in stores, they will make hot sales as well.

Want to voice your thoughts? Vote in the polls or visit the forum to discuss the GloFish.