48-Pound Trout: World Record or Genetic Cheat?

Witch!! Witch!

Burn him!!

No seriously people I know fishermen who WILL burn him if this is allowed to stand.

Granted it is a farm fish, it was still caught and landed, in the wild, which is the point of the record. I do however think that this should be a separate record from catching a wild rainbow trout.

Go ahead and make it a record but make it seperate. Make a rule that states also that a genetically altered fish can't just be caught from the tank or farm where it was bred raised etc.

Am I the only one here that is worried that genetically altered fish are escaping from a "fish farm"?

Surely any world record is somewhat opportunistic.

While it may be true that few others will have the chance to catch such a fish, that would also be true of people who get the land speed record, or the longest balloon flight record.

Equally, it would be a shame to think that one day all fishing records would be based on the capacity of a fisher versus the capacity of a scientist to create a fish big enough that it could not be caught by a non-genetically modified human.

I agree with 3 and 6. It's a legitimate record, for catching genetically modified rainbow trout in the wild, and it's not as if ALL record holding catches aren't already determined by the genes of the fish they catch, strains and sizes which may not be available to all fishermen, as it is.

Hmm, it's an interesting debate...but if these fish are genetically modified in such a way that they are sterile they will eventually die out as long as no more are being released. I can certainly understand why someone would be alarmed at the thought of GM organisms being turned loose to freely hybridize with their wild counterparts because there's no way of knowing what damage will be done to the original species. Giant STERILE trout won't do much permanent harm, if they do any at all. Only if they were capable of reproduction would they be a real threat to their environment.

As for the world record, well, it should be in a separate category from others that were not GM fish. I say that because if it wasn't for the fish farm irresponsibly allowing those fish to escape in the first place, there wouldn't be any 40+ pound trout for anglers to catch and therefore claim as a world record.

Just because it has a genetic mutation doesn't mean it wouldn't exist in nature. Record stands.

I think they should fry it up and eat it!

The record should not stand. Yea it was caught but it was not natural. It is neat that this fisherman was able to catch such a fish but it is not fair to classify this fish with natural fish.

"We're gonna need a bigger frying pan"

I dont see the difference between travelling to specific locations to try and hook big fish. Couldnt any wannabe world record holders just stay in the area where the fish was caught and hope they catch another escapee? Its the same as travelling to a world-renown lake or something because a specific type of fish is known to live there.

I dont think the record should stand, especially considering the other records are presumably for wild-caught, naturally bred fish.

Its not like I can go throw a hook into Sea World and claim a record, no matter how big a fish I can land myself.

Give me a break. This is not the catch of a natural rainbow trout. If you want to catch something heavy...please try fishing in the ocean. You will never be recognized as a fisherman. This is lame, at best.

it shouldn't stand, but what I'm wondering is if they're growing 48 pound trout to sell at the grocery store!?

it should stand as a record

If these things are escaping from fish farms, they could be devastating to their environments.

It is a cheat. It's like winning a cake-baking contest with a cake you bought in a store.

embarrassing!

Easy solution. Create separate categories for triploid and diploid trout. Then there is no argument.

I've been fishing for record fish in the kootanys for 20 yrs,rainbows inperticulare.If all i had to do was get a triplod put it in my ponds or creeks feed the hell out of it.throw my line in and sit and wait Iwould hold all the records.triplodes are not naturel they are not records.