Gill lice detected for first time in Virginia trout

Native brook trout in Virginia appears to be out of harm’s way when it comes to the recent detection of a nasty aquatic parasite called gill lice in Southwest Virginia.

Biologists from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources sent samples of gill lice found on rainbow trout in Blue Springs Creek in Smyth and Wythe Counties to a laboratory to verify which species had been detected.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lamar Fish Health Center confirmed the samples to be Salmincola californiensis, a host-specific species to rainbow trout.

LINK (via NBC12)

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