animal is allowed on the u.s. food market. but critics are warning, there is no proof these fish are safe for humans or the environment at large. joining us now is sonzan, lead scientist for the nature conservancy. this is an interesting study. we have that picture that we can put up that shows people what this is, two salmon of the same age, one of them, the big one in the back there, has been modified with a gene from an eel? yeah, eel-like fish, called a pout. jon: they managed to put this gene into the salmon s genetic ski quence and what s it do? makes that salmon grow twice as fast, makes it eat voraciously and double its size. jon: obviously you re getting a bigger salmon, you know, in less time. right. jon: more meat. right. jon: what s wrong with that? nothing genetic, generically wrong with that. there are a couple of risks. one is environmental risk. eve been wheat we ve been
in this case it is salmon that has had its dna altered and has been designed to grow bigger. and as lisa stark reports, for consumers it is food for thought. reporter: it looks like any other salmon. but opponents call it frankenfish and hope to keep it off your dinner plate. here s the difference. both fish are 18 months old. the larger genetically engineered aqua advantage salmon grows twice as fast as the regular salmon. this is the first genetically engineered animal that would be introduced to the food supply. reporter: atlantic salmon grows in fits and starts. scientists found that adding genetic material from a pacific salmon and an eel-like fish helps them grow round the clock. this fish is indistinguishable from traditional foods. how can you say it s indistinguishable when it clearly has a different genetic makeup? it tastes the same, it looks the same, the biology is exactly the same. reporter: fda scientists