Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) is calling on the Auditors General of Canada and Prince Edward Island to investigate why the government funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars to a genetically-modified salmon company just before it shut down.
Troubled biotech company AquaBounty has stopped production of all genetically-modified (GM) salmon and closed its last working facility at Bay Fortune on Prince Edward Island. Earlier, the company laid off two dozen employees and shut down its Rollo Bay, PEI facility. The two plants were put up for sale in an effort to generate cash.
The closure announcement came just weeks after the federal and PEI governments announced $231,095 in funding for the company. CBAN has registered a complaint with the Auditors General and the federal and provincial ministers of fisheries, and it is calling for a review of the decision to send more funds to AquaBounty when the company already owed PEI $1.5 million from a $2.7 million loan in 2018.
According to a government statement, AquaBounty was one of 39 companies funded to help improve “sustainability in the provincial fish and seafood sector.”
“This struggling company has survived largely due to investor hype along with decades of government funding and the support of the federal policy to deny consumers mandatory labelling of GM food, said Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, which monitors genetic modification (genetic engineering) in food and farming. “Genetic modification is clearly not a sound investment. The use of this technology for food production is risky and extremely controversial.”
“We’re glad to see the back of this company after over twenty years of our protests against genetically modified food,” added Sharon Labchuk of the local coalition GMO Free PEI.
In 2024, Aquabounty shut down a half-built facility in Ohio after cancelling construction the previous year and attempting to use the site as collateral for a high-interest loan. Filters, tanks, equipment, and a 200,000-square-foot prefab building were auctioned off in February 2025, according to Seafood Source.
“And so ends a science experiment which never should have started because of the risk to wild Atlantic salmon.” said Mark Butler, Senior Advisor at Nature Canada. “As they shut their operations in PEI, we encourage the company to ensure that all genetically modified fish and eggs are safely culled to ensure there is no risk of escape in the closing days.”
AquaBounty will likely lose its NASDAQ stock market listing after its share price dropped well below the $1 USD minimum. Dave Melbourne, the company’s CEO, resigned in December 2024.
The print version of this story incorrectly reported that AquaBounty was still operating in PEI. The story has been updated to clarify that AquaBounty has closed down all its genetically-modified salmon operations in North America.
