Running Head: YORKTOWN TECHNOLOGIES CASE ANALYSIS
Yorktown Technologies Case Analysis
Case Recap
Founded in 2001, Yorktown Technologies, Inc. is a company that specializes in the ornamental fish industry. The globalization of the ornamental fish industry happened over a half a century ago. Hundreds of freshwater and saltwater fish can be purchased as pets in virtually any industrialized nation in the world (Broy, 2011). Yorktown Technologies commercializes a genetically modified fish called GloFish, which appear to glow in the dark (Mueller, 2010). GloFish are zebrafish that have been genetically modified with fluorescent colors. They are the first genetically modified animals to become publicly available as pets
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The fish are not available in California due to state regulations that ban biotech aquatic organisms (GloFish, 2011). In addition, Singapore – where the fish was originally engineered – has been reluctant to approve its sale (Ely, 2004). This places an additional limit on potential marketing and distribution strategies.
Yorktown Technologies will launch the first commercially available fish that has been genetically modified. They will be available in the United States in late 2003. They will be available in three colors: red, green, and orange (GloFish, 2011).
Yorktown Technologies has an exclusive product and market niche. The company has a substantial number of patents and patent pending applications for GloFish (GloFish, 2011). In addition, the production, market, and distribution of fluorescent fish are strictly prohibited without the approval of Yorktown Technologies (GloFish, 2011). This gives the company a monopoly on fluorescent fish and makes it impossible for other companies to produce, market, and distribute them.
Identifying the Root Problem Components
Yorktown Technologies have several issues that may affect marketing and distribution. The issues are geographical distribution, production, supply and demand, environmental concerns, and retail outlets.
First, GloFish are not approved for distribution and sale in California. California is an
Blake has been considering marketing the product on ebay and through direct internet sales to the consumer. Pricing has become a serious issue in this consideration. Competitors are selling similar products for far less than Yorktown can provide their product for. The consideration for international sales has been discussed, along with the possibility of regulating the illegal infringement of the patent through sterilization of the fish prior to sales in some areas that are difficult to regulate due to the international nature of the sales.
When a law enforcement officer or other public employee is accused of potentially criminal conduct, they may face three different kinds of interviews or interrogations. If an officer is interviewed as a criminal suspect, they have the absolute right to decline to answer any questions, or to insist that they have a lawyer of their choosing to attend the interview. The first is type is during a criminal investigation; the second is during a disciplinary investigation and finally during the course of civil litigation where there has been damages. During a criminal interview, there is no professional, ethical or moral duty to participate especially without the assistance of an attorney to represent the officer under investigation. It has come to a surprise that many experienced officers will waive their right to silence and give the investigators an audio recorded statement. Some of the inexperienced criminals do not make incriminating statements. The motive for cooperation is to avoid unfavorable publicity.
The consumer market for freshwater ornamental fish and related products in the US exceeds $700 million annually and is growing at a rate of nearly 9% per year
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a commercial selling and consuming of the first GM animal, a salmon fish. However, instead of taking this news favorably, the U.S retailers refuse to sell it in their stores. One of these retailers is Costco, the second-largest warehouse retailer in the world.
The Atlantic and Pacific Coasts fish stocks overall show little improvement, despite the management strategies that have been implemented to try to increase fish population. This is primarily due to overexploitation
One of the most commonly shared beliefs about aquaculture is that it has potential to amplify and transfer disease/parasites to wild fish populations, but strict management practices and guidelines have been utilized and supplemented to ensure that US farming operations mitigate current and potential environmental risks associated with aquaculture (NOAA, 2015). Among these practices are regular diver-led inspections to investigate the integrity of nets and net infrastructure, surveillance cameras and even public webcam feeds that monitor the fish farms and in particular monitor efficient use of feed, regular health inspections in efforts to have a head start on disease prevention and detection, and “comprehensive sanitary and biosecurity programs to prevent the introduction and/or spread of pests or diseases from one farm site/cage to another or into the environment.” (NOAA, 2015). Additionally, movements are being made to stop the spreading of disease and to limit oceanic pollution by containing salmon in solid tanks rather than in netting. “In Washington State, Domsea Farms has launched a land-based, freshwater system to produce coho salmon.” (David Suzuki Foundation, n.d.) This method is not only environmentally sound, but it opens up aquacultural boundaries. By containing fish in these large tanks, there is potential for salmon aquaculture to
Delgado, C. L., Wada, N., Rosegrant, M. W., Meijer, S., & Ahmed, M. (2003). Fish to 2020: supply and demand in changing global markets. Retrieved from http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/books/fish2020/oc44.pdf
The influence of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulfstream in Southwest Florida Waters make the temperature just right for literally hundreds of different kinds of fish. In 2011, “Florida’s recreational anglers caught roughly 121 million marine fish, 74 million of which were released.” These statistics support the notion that fishing may be one of the most loved hobbies. Since fishing efforts have been drastically increasing over the years, dozens of species are threatened with extinction and many more are experiencing serious population declines. In order to ensure that a fish’s populations will remain sustainable for future generations, anglers need regulations that will sustain the existence of a fish population.
When speaking about genetically modified or genetically engineered organisms, an important distinction must be made. This new breed of technology does not use traditional means of gene
Another concern that many consumers and consumer groups have is whether or not these GM salmon should be labeled
New England Seafood Company executives face a potential two-stage plan to move into the freshwater catfish market because of the banned oyster harvesting along much of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and increased competition from foreign producers. These factors have resulted in significantly lower yields for New England Seafood. In order to stay in business, New England Seafood Company needs to look at harvesting and processing something other than seafood. New England Seafood Company looks to
As of now, the US Food and Drug administration is debating on whether or not to let genetically modified salmon made by a biotech company in Massachusetts be marketed. Many consumers are demanding that if it be approved it must be labelled. However, scientific studies show how there is no noticeable difference between the genetically engineered salmon and the wild salmon, yet labelling it may imply to the consumers that there is, therefore it would only scare away buyers. “The FDA's own rules say that once it is determined that a genetically modified food is not ‘materially significant’ from naturally derived products,
There are many people that stand for this GMO because it allows people to make more money off of the fish which is usually inexpensive and grown usually quite small. Also it allows people to buy less fish but get more for what they are paying for. Majority of the people think this is a bad idea not only making the fish larger than their normal size but also makes them higher rate of males because they are injecting growth hormones that affect what the sex of a fish will be.
The parade of genetically engineered marvels, during the past recent years, has been shocking: “Flavr-Savr” tomatoes that stay fresher longer; “giant salmon” that grow 37 times faster than the normal fish; “transgenic” pigs that are injected with human genes which causes them to produce milk with human protein that prevents blood clotting; and “supermice” injected with rat growth genes which makes them grow twice their normal size, are just a few.
In 1973, the first genetically-modified organisms came in the form of glofish, which were genetically modified to glow in the dark. Genetic engineering, for nearly four