A Glo-ing Review of Fluorescent GloFish
Thousands of species of ornamental fish, invertebrates, and plants provide endless possibilities for aquarium keepers. Traditional methods of breeding by selection added even more varieties to the mix. But as the aquarium hobby entered the 21st Century, pets, biotechnology, and innovative entrepreneurship intertwined, creating the U.S.’s first genetically engineered pet—the GloFish. After many challenges—and many years of hard work-- Alan Blake, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Yorktown Technologies, L.P. and his colleagues finally saw their fluorescent wet pets swim into stores across the U.S. In this episode, we’ll talk to Alan Blake and learn more about GloFish, the glow-in-the-dark aquatic pets that have revolutionized the hobby.
BIO:
Alan Blake is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Yorktown Technologies, L.P., the exclusive licensor of GloFish® fluorescent fish. After more than five years on the market, GloFish are among the top-selling fish in the ornamental fish industry, and they remain the only biotech animal commercially available to the public in the United States. Since co-founding the company in 2001, Mr. Blake has gained extensive knowledge and expertise in the scientific, legal, marketing, public relations, and regulatory issues related to commercializing biotech animals. Mr. Blake has also served as the primary spokesman for GloFish, which has been featured in virtually all major domestic broadcast, print, and radio venues, as well as dozens of international outlets, with over 750,000,000 media impressions. Mr. Blake has been an active member of Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO’s) Animal Biotechnology Committee since 2003, and he has chaired panel discussions for BIO and the World Aquaculture Society.