§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the continuing development of GM fish. [77306]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 28 October 2002]: The release and marketing of GMOs in the EU is governed by European Directive 2001/18/EC. In England, Directive 2001/18 is implemented by part VI of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations 2002. The devolved Administrations for Scotland and Wales are responsible for implementing Directive 2001/18 in their respective territories.
The above legislation covers any proposed release of GM fish into the environment for research or commercial purposes, including any proposed release of GM fish in nets, tanks or cages in the sea or in rivers, lakes or streams. Before any such release could go ahead, it would have to be authorised by a consent from the relevant authority. Decisions on whether or not to allow a release would be based on a detailed assessment of any risks that may be posed by the GMO to human health or the environment in each case. It is difficult to envisage any circumstance in which a release of GM fish would be authorised in England.
There are no GM fish being held in aquatic net-pens in the UK and no approval has yet been sought or granted for the commercial production of GM fish.
The Department for International Development is funding research on GM techniques that may accelerate the growth rate and confer sterility in tilapia, a freshwater fish widely farmed in Africa and Asia. This work is being carried out by the University of Southampton in strictly controlled contained tank conditions in accordance with GMO (contained use) legislation. It is designed to provide a better understanding of how poor producers and consumers in developing countries could benefit, and to help these countries to decide for themselves whether they want to use the techniques.
705W At the fifth North Sea Conference at Bergen in March 2002, Ministers also agreed to take all possible actions in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2001/18/EC and comparable national legislation, to ensure that the culture of genetically modified marine organisms is confined to secure, self-contained, land-based facilities in order to prevent their release to the marine environment.