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The Food and Drug Administration has a special present for you this holiday season: genetically modified salmon that have been developed to grow at twice the usual salmon speed. What, you didn’t put that on your list? Well, surprise!

USA Today reports:  The Food and Drug Administration on Friday released its environmental assessment of the AquaAdvantage salmon, a faster-growing fish which has been subject to a contentious, yearslong debate at the agency. The document concludes that the fish “will not have any significant impacts on the quality of the human environment of the United States.” Regulators also said that the fish is unlikely to harm populations of natural salmon, a key concern for environmental activists.

 The FDA will take comments from the public on its report for 60 days before making it final 

 Experts view the release of the environmental report as the final step before approval.

The fish was first invented (invented!) in the ’90s but has been swimming around in regulatory limbo for the last two years, with some skeptical it would ever see a dinner plate. From Slate:

 [W]ithin days of the expected public release of the [environmental assessment] this spring, the application was frozen. The delay, sources within the government say, came after meetings with the White House, which was debating the political implications of approving the GM salmon, a move likely to infuriate a portion of its base 

 When asked about the holdup, FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said, “I recommend you talk to the [Office of Management and Budget] or the White House. That’s all I’m willing to say.”