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We
have received many questions from Californians seeking to understand why
GloFish® fluorescent fish are allowed everywhere in the United States
except California. As many people know, our fish received a positive
recommendation from the
California Department of Fish and Game (pdf) in November 2003,
and the California Fish & Game Commission voted to move forward with the
process of exempting our fish from their ban
on biotech aquatic organisms in April 2004. However, we were
subsequently advised by Commission attorneys that state law in California
would require the completion of a formal ecological review to comply with the California
Environmental Quality Act before the Commission could move forward with
the approval process. Unfortunately, this review would be extremely expensive,
involve procedural uncertainty, and likely take several years to
complete.
Due to
the excessive cost and time involved in that
process,
as well as the uncertainty, we have decided not to engage
the review. We regret this situation, but unfortunately cannot afford,
at this time, to make the enormous investment necessary to perhaps be able to
market our fish in California.
If
you would like to contact the Commission to make your voice heard
regarding this issue, please visit their website at
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/html/contact.html, or contact them directly by
phone at (916) 653-4899, by fax at (916) 653-5040, or by email at
fgc@dfg.ca.gov. |
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