Gene transfer technology has been applied to approach several breeding objectives. Using growth hormone genes has been introduced
into over a dozen species to increase growth rate. Some gene transfer experiments have resulted in several-fold acceleration of growth rate in Atlantic salmon, coho salmon, tilapia, northern pike and channel catfish. In other experiments this technique have attempted to increase the cold tolerance of sensitive species by introducing antifreeze protein genes.
It is not surprising with the prospect of improved production efficiency, that some aquaculturists want to produce
transgenic fish and shellfish commercially. For examples, transgenic carp and tilapia reportedly are already in commercial production in China and Cuba approximatelly.