Last year saw one of the poorest salmon returns on record in North America.

US-based AquaBounty, the firm which received the go-ahead, said it would begin stocking fish insupermarkets “as soon as possible.” The first commercial harvest is expected at the end of 2020. At the

moment, Argentina, Brazil and China have also granted environmental approvals for genetically modifiedfish farming trials.This genetically modified salmon is actually a fish injected with the DNA of two other edible fish.Thelong road to the current version of the GM fish began in the 1980s when a physiologist named GarthFletcher read about the work being done to genetically modify mice and wondered whether it could applyto salmon. He understood that the fish’s growth hormones are most active in some seasons and consideredchanging this so that the hormones are always active. Cut to 2019, Fletcher’s GM fish is able to reach adultsize in 16 to 18 months, compared with 30 months for natural Atlantic salmon, while consuming 25% lessfeed.In the United States, Atlantic salmon is endangered, so catching it is heavily restricted. It is currentlyimported from Chile, Norway and Canada. If the production and sales of AquaBounty go as planned, thiswill all change. And simultaneously, the company claims that farming the fish in their land-based hatcherieswill lower the transportation cost as well as emissions associated with importing the fish as is currently done.This has not all been without stiff opposition, and protestors who have sent nearly 2 million comments to the FDA have had issues on three main fronts. Health risks, being the main one, as it has been with several other genetically modified foods in the past. The environmental group Earth Action says no one can predict what will happen when people start eating the fish overtime.

28. What can we learn about AquaBounty?

A. It is a firm located inArgentina.

B. It performs research into GM fish.

C. It deals with the production and sales of fish.

D. It is the only firm allowed to produce GM fish.

29. One of the advantages of the GM salmon isthat

A. it has proved to have no health risks

B. it costs 25% less than imported salmon

C. it can meet people’s ever increasing need

D. it grows faster than natural Atlantic salmon

30. Protestors again GM salmon worry that

A. fish markets will be seriously disturbed

B. GM food has potential health problems

C. GM salmon may not be up to the standard

D. the environmental group Earth Action will not be satisfied

31. The underlined word “this” in the last paragraph probably refersto

A. the nod to sell a GM salmon

B. the lower cost of GM salmon

C. the prediction about what will happen

D. the import of salmon from Chile, Norway and Canada