PORT ANGELES — Atlantic salmon contained in Port Angeles fish pens owned by American Gold Seafoods have so far tested negative for a deadly fish virus, said Alan Cook, American Gold vice president of aquaculture.
Tests earlier this month confirmed the presence of an influenza-like virus called infectious hematopoietic necrosis, or IHN, in the fish contained in 2 acres of nets near the shores of Bainbridge Island.
The Port Angeles fish, located in pens south of Ediz Hook near the Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, are being watched closely by employees for any sign of the disease.
The Port Angeles operation has juveniles, while the Bainbridge Island facility houses adults, according to Icicle Seafoods, the Seattle-based parent company of American Gold.
Many of the fish from the Bainbridge Island farm were adults of marketable size.
It was the first time the virus was detected in Atlantic salmon in Washington state.
Farms quarantined
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency this month has quarantined three salmon farms in British Columbia because of the IHN virus, the Canadian Press reported.
The virus does not affect humans who consume infected fish.
It occurs in Pacific Northwest sockeye salmon and can be carried through the nets by smaller infected fish, such as herring, to farmed Atlantic salmon.
Atlantic salmon are related only distantly to Pacific salmon species and belong to a different genus.
American Gold Seafoods operates two hatcheries near Rochester and has 120 fish pens off Port Angeles, Bainbridge Island, Cypress Island and Hope Island in Puget Sound.
Fish destroyed
The Bainbridge Island outbreak will result in more than a million pounds of fish being destroyed.
The company said it plans to remove all fish from pens where there are dead or dying fish by the end of June.
Nets from 2 acres’ worth of pens will be removed and disinfected. The fish farm could be running again in four months.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
