Aquaculture for all

Losses mount for GM salmon firm

Salmonids Breeding & genetics Economics +3 more

AquaBounty, the biotechnology company known for its GM AquaAdvantage salmon strain, has posted losses of just over $2 million for the first quarter of 2017, compared to losses of roughly $1.8 million in the same quarter last year.

Despite this, the company, which is a majority-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation, delivered a number of upbeat messages in its Q1 report, following the completion of a $25 million equity subscription with Intrexon Corporation in the quarter; continued progress on their renovation plans of a former smolt site on Prince Edward Island; and the submission of a follow-on request to authorities to construct a broodstock facility and a grow-out facility on the site.

Ronald Stotish, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty, stated: “We are pleased by the progress we’ve made during the first quarter on our 2017 goals. We completed the listing of our common shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market, aided by the infusion of $25.0 million in new equity from Intrexon. This has allowed us to continue with, and expand upon, our plans to renovate the former Atlantic Sea Smolt plant in Rollo Bay on Prince Edward Island. We have submitted an application to the provincial regulatory authorities for the construction of a broodstock facility to house our non-transgenic Atlantic salmon stock and a 250 metric ton recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility to grow out our AquAdvantage Salmon. We see this as the first step in our commercialization plan. We are also continuing to search for sites to establish our first RAS grow-out facility in the United States, and we expect to complete this process this year.”

Following the implementation of a 1-for-30 reverse share split and completion of the listing of the company’s common shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market, AquaBounty is now seeking shareholder approval to de-list its common shares from trading on AIM.

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