The FDA approval indicates they believe the AquAdvantage® salmon is safe to eat, is very unlikely to have an impact on the environment, does not have any specific concern regarding animal ethics and that the companies claims for superior performance are considered valid

This is the result of a very thorough review by FDA that I believe has lasted around 15 years so should not be considered to be anything other than exhaustive. The approval appears to relate to production of salmon only in land based facilities in Canada and Panama.

The transgenic (GM) fish is transgenic for growth hormone genes from another species of salmon and a promotor gene from another fish called the Ocean Pout. The extra copies of the growth hormone gene enable the fish to grow faster and to have a higher food conversion efficiency making it cheaper to produce than normal cultured salmon. 

The chance of environmental impact is limited by the fact that the fish can only be produced in land based facilities not connected to the sea and that all production fish will be sterile triploids that cannot breed. 

To my knowledge one of the most significant features of this announcement is that it is the first GM animal approved for human consumption (certainly in the US but maybe worldwide).        

Production of this GM salmon will be quite limited and will represent a tiny proportion of global salmon production

There is no obligation to label salmon and salmon products from this fish as GM, however, it is likely that anti-GM activists will highlight this issue

The presumed lower production costs should enable the GM salmon to be sold at a lower price point than normal cultured salmon but it remains to be seen if significant proportions of consumers will purchase the product if they know it is GM and thus it is by no means guaranteed that production will be a commercial success but at least we will now find out.

Possibly the most significant impact of this decision by the FDA will be the corresponding approval of a number of other GM fish that have been produced in other parts of the world.  It is likely that other agencies have been waiting for the FDA verdict before approving other GM fish.  These approvals may not be made with the same level of rigour as applied by the FDA.

Hope this is useful. 

The approval of GM technology to increase the productivity of animal production is a significant step forward in humanity’s grand challenge of producing protein and achieving food security for an increasing global population. With more food needed to be produced in the next 30 years than consumed throughout the last few thousand years, it is imperative that technology-driven solutions be brought to bear on food production across all sectors.

The approval of a GM salmon with a gene to dramatically increase its growth performance is the culmination of various genetic and breeding processes manipulated by mankind for over 10,000 years and offers the opportunity to produce food more efficiently and with certain characteristics that will have proven benefits for both producers and consumers. Importantly, despite a barrage of misinformation, comprehensive scientific review has shown that the GM product is safe to consume and the impact to the environment under the conditions of farming imposed are low.

Similar GM technologies have been approved for some time in plant production species and have resulted in large gains in both productivity and sustainability of industrial plant production. The approval of GM technology to food production for animals in my opinion is long overdue. Looking back from the future the decision by AquaBounty to develop this improved salmon for aquaculture and their resilience in persisting in the two decade USFDA approval process will see them as a significant leader in humanity’s ability to continually produce high-quality food for the growing population. Hopefully approval processes for other beneficial GM animals, while needing to be stringent and on a case by case basis, will not be held up for so long