ALBANY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The first harvest of genetically-engineered salmon raised in fish tanks in the Delaware County town of Albany is set for later this month. Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB) says purchase orders have been received for the initial five metric ton harvest.

Aquabounty purchased the fish farm from Bell Fish Co. in 2017, but it did receive federal regulatory approval until 2018 to raise GE salmon. Production began the following year.

Aquabounty is the only company with regulatory approval to raise GE Atlantic salmon by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada. It has been seven years since Aquabounty received FDA approval.

While Aquabounty has received regulatory approval, the company has critics for using genetic engineering technology to raise fish. Opponents are concerned about the risk of exposure to wild salmon populations.

But the aquaculture company says with its on-land fish farms, as opposed to ocean cages, the company is taking necessary bio-security measures to protect native salmon.

“The AquaBounty strategy for facility design and operation is driven by important considerations for the health of salmon,” said Aquabounty Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Wulf. “Our goal is to provide a delicious salmon that is produced in a secure and sustainable manner and raised right here in the United States.”

The company says the salmon are free of antibiotics and ocean contaminants.

AquaBounty says its GE salmon reach harvest weight faster and more efficiently than conventional salmon grown in sea cages.

ALBANY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — AquaBounty Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB), which is raising genetically modified salmon at its facility in Randolph County, has announced plans to expand. But for now, it will not be in Indiana.

The Massachusetts company says it will build a large-scale commercial facility in Mayfield, Kentucky.

AquaBounty says the new plant will have annual fish production of 10,000 metric tons, which is about eight times more than the facility in Albany.

While Indiana was one of 230 sites considered for the new plant, the company says the Kentucky site exceeded its selection criteria.

When asked why Indiana was not selected, a company spokesperson said, “Albany continues to be an important part of the AquaBounty farm system and will for years to come.”

The Indiana aquaculture plant was the company’s first farm in the U.S. where it is currently raising about 1,200 metric tons of conventional Atlantic salmon.

It is at this same location where AquaBounty is raising its genetically engineered AquAdvantage Salmon, the nation’s first FDA-approved GE fish protein for human consumption.

ALBANY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Albany, Indiana, is about 750 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean, but the Delaware County town of 2,100 Hoosiers is where Atlantic salmon is now being harvested.

Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AQB) announced the beginning of its commercial-scale harvest of conventional Atlantic salmon raised at its aquaculture farm in Albany. This fish farm is the company’s first in the U.S.

The company says the Indiana-based farm will ramp up the monthly harvest of conventional salmon throughout the summer and plans to reach 100 metric tons per month by early 2021.

The annual capacity of the farm is approximately 1,200 metric tons.

“For comparison, in the U.S., we consume about 400,000 tons of salmon a year,” said Mark Walton, chief technology officer for AquaBounty.

The company uses a Recirculating Aquaculture System to raise its fish which filters and reuses the same water in the tanks. AquaBounty says the RAS is a more efficient and sustainable way to raise Atlantic salmon.

Conventional salmon farming occurs in netted pens in coastal regions. Walton says productivity has leveled-out.

“There are biological challenges that go along with being in a net pen, such as temperatures and disease,” explained Walton. “By bringing the salmon into a system like ours, we eliminated the environmental issues.”

The company says locating the farm in the Midwest puts it within easy reach of key U.S. markets.

“As the global population increases, we are seeking better ways to efficiently feed a hungry world with a sustainable source of nutritious food,” said AquaBounty’s Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Wulf. “Land-based aquaculture is a reliable method for supplying fresh and healthy salmon. This harvest is the result of AquaBounty’s almost 30 years of experience in aquaculture and demonstrates our expertise in raising Atlantic salmon.”

It is at this same location in Albany where AquaBounty is raising its genetically-engineered AquAdvantage Salmon, production for which began a year ago. The GE salmon is the nation’s first FDA-approved protein for human consumption. The company says harvest of those fish will begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Walton appeared on this week’s Ag+Bio+Science Podcast presented by AgriNovus Indiana to talk about the company’s Hoosier operations. Click here for more information on how you can listen.

ALBANY, Ind. (WISH) — A grandmother and grandfather face felony neglect charges after police say they overdosed and had to be revived while they were supposed to be caring for two of their grandchildren.

James Young, 41, and Riley Young, 44, were arrested early Thursday morning. In addition to the neglect charges, James and Riley both face misdemeanor public intoxication charges, while Riley faces a felony charge of possession of heroin.

An officer with Eaton Police Department found Riley unresponsive outside a Village Pantry at 641 W. Walnut St. around 2:48 a.m. Thursday. An Albany police officer also responded. Emergency medical personnel administered Riley a dose of the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone through Narcan at the scene. When Riley was conscious, she admitted to medics that she had “snorted” heroin and was transported to Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital. 

When the Albany police officer went to the Youngs’ residence, less than half a mile away from the Village Pantry in the 500 block of West State Street, to inform Riley’s husband of her overdose, he found James unresponsive “on his knees behind (an) open car door,” court documents say. Police said three doses of naloxone through Narcan were administered to James before he regained consciousness and was also taken to IU Health Ball Memorial. 

When the police officer saw two car seats on the front porch of the residence, he went inside to look for children and found a 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl asleep. There were no other adults at the residence and drugs were found inside the home, according to court documents. 

Riley and James both told police “they were watching their grandchildren and were supposed to take care of them,” and James admitted to police that he had used the drugs found in the home. 

On Friday, James and Riley remained in the Delaware County Jail, on $6,000 and $16,000 bonds, respectively.