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Senator Kerry. But are there not serious implications for all 

 sorts of cross-breeding or genetic "tampering" that may or may not 

 take place if such animals are released into the ocean? 



Dr. Burris. I think this is an issue one has to confront head-on 

 and carefully evaluate. I agree with you entirely. You have in 

 cross-breeding the potential to produce a hybrid which may or may 

 not be a problem, and what you have to do is make a decision 

 based on the so-called phenotype. 



Not the way it is made, whether it is made by genetic engineer- 

 ing and DNA is spliced in, but looking at the phenotype or what 

 the characteristics of the organism are, and what impact it would 

 have on the environment, and I think one has to proceed very cau- 

 tiously. 



Senator Kerry. Is there really any way to measure that? 



Dr. Burris. We have a variety of ways, if I may use as parallel 

 where we have a much greater experience, which is terrestrial agri- 

 culture, terrestrial crops, and I realize there are differences in 

 terms of the ability to move, et cetera, but we can make reasonable 

 predictions about hybrid species and hybrid varieties in the terres- 

 trial system because we have had a lot more experience with it. In 

 the marine, we are really novices and know very little about it. 



We have essentially had few, if any, problems with genetic hy- 

 brids that are controlled and made. The problems have come with 

 what I would call the introductions of exotics, foreign species. 



The flag that is waved of concern is that we are going to release 

 the new kudzu into the ocean. But one has to look carefully to see 

 whether it is a foreign species or if it is a native species that has 

 been only a limited change in its phenotype, or how it grows, or 

 how it looks. 



So, we have had experience, but not, certainly, as much as we 

 should have, and that should be part of the research, not only the 

 biotechnology to modify organisms, but the research to understand 

 any potential impact. 



Senator Kerry. Do you have a sense of where, economically ma- 

 rine biotechnology is headed? I mean, what kind of predictions you 

 could make in terms of the market for goods produced with marine 

 biotechnologies? 



Mr. Helms. Well, of course, I look at a fairly narrow part of the 

 overall picture, but to give you an example, the entire seafood in- 

 dustry in South Carolina is about a $27 million a year industry, 

 and by 1995 or 1996 we will be about a $30 to $35 million com- 

 pany, and so it shows that with the proper direction and proper 

 technology, that one company can outgrow an entire industry, and 

 South Carolina is known for its shrimpers and crabbers and other 

 species. 



So, I think if you look at it that the seafood that we produce or 

 the shellfish that we produce are really in competition to a 

 consumer, perhaps, of shrimp. So, he decides to order shrimp, or 

 perhaps a clam if it is available. If the clam is not available he or- 

 ders shrimps, and of course most shrimps come from mainland 

 China and from Ecuador. 



So, I think the economic value is definitely there, and I assure 

 you that because aquaculture and the fishing industry is such an 

 unstructured industry, made up of so many small companies, that 



