Genetically engineered salmon could be coming to a plate near you

Love salmon but hate how long it takes to grow? Well, you’re in luck. The Food and Drug Administration gave preliminary approval last Friday to a genetically engineered salmon that grows twice as quickly as its counterpart in nature.

Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., a Masschusetts-based company, spliced in genes from an ocean pout, which allows the AquAdvantage — the fish’s moniker — to grow to a salable size in just 18 months. That’s twice as fast as the growth rates for a traditional Atlantic salmon.