A deadly fish virus making its first appearance in Washington waters has forced a Bainbridge salmon farm to kill its entire stock and has put state wildlife experts on alert for additional outbreaks.
More than a million pounds worth of Atlantic salmon are being cleared from infected net pens in Rich Passage near Fort Ward.
The infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus, or IHN virus, recently appeared in two British Columbia fish farms, forcing the destruction of nearly 600,000 fish. The virus had never been recorded in Washington waters until testing this month confirmed it had spread to the Bainbridge farm.
