Rainbow Trout World Record
48-Pound Trout: World Record or Genetic Freak?
In an age of biotechnological juicing, not even the easygoing pastime of fishing
is free from controversies over artificial enhancement.
On September 5, Saskatchewan fisherman Sean Konrad caught a 48-pound,
world-record rainbow trout. The fish came from Lake Diefenbaker, where trout
genetically engineered to grow extra-big escaped from a fish farm nine years
ago.
The previous world record was held by Sean’s twin brother Adam, who pulled a
43-pound, 10-ounce rainbow trout from Lake Diefenbaker in 2007. That catch
sparked online debate over the legitimacy of Lake Diefenbaker’s farm-born,
genetically-engineered rainbows. Technically known as triploids, they’re
designed with three sets of chromosomes, making them sterile and channeling
energies normally spent reproducing towards growth.
Complete
Story by Wired Science