MAYNARD, Mass., Oct. 28, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- News stories today claim AquaBounty (LSE:ABTX) repeatedly violated environmental laws at our Panamanian facility. These stories misrepresent the facts.
When AquaBounty was informed of issues at our Panama facility, we immediately contacted ANAM, the Panamanian agency for the environment. We initiated a program to remedy the deficiencies and the issues were formally resolved in August of 2014 with publication of ARACH 071-2014. AquaBounty paid a fine and the matter was closed.
The nature of the violations had no bearing on the containment or health of our fish, or the safety of our operations.
Our facility is inspected frequently by various agencies of the Panamanian government and, as of Resolution ARACH 071.2014, continues to operate with no sanctions or restrictions. We have worked closely with the Panamanian government as they have developed their regulatory process.
It is important to emphasize that none of the issues in the Resolution questioned the containment, health of the fish, or the environmental safety of the facility. AquaBounty continues to work closely with all regulatory agencies to assure compliance with all their requirements.