Anglers put on alert over killer carp disease

Anglers and fishery owners are being warned to be on their guard following outbreaks of the Koi Herpes Virus - a killer carp disease for which there is no known cure.

The outbreak could lead fishery owners to introduce stricter controls over the use of landing nets and keepnets, with anglers having to use only dry nets or nets which have been disinfected for 15 minutes or more and then thoroughtly rinsed. Alternatively, some fisheries may insist that anglers use only the fishery's own nets.

There have been confirmed cases of KHV in the South and South East and reportedly suspected cases in the Midlands. At its worse KHV is 100 per cent fatal to koi and other species of carp.

Whilst the Environment Agency are controlling fish movements from known KHV sites, it has come under attack from some fishery owners because it is not prepared to say which fisheries have been affected.

The Environment Agency says this is to protect the long-term reputation and livelihood of the affected waters, whilst a growing band of fishery owners say the EA should release the details as anglers travel many miles to go fishing and the information could help to protect unaffected venues.

The Professional Coarse Fisheries Association, the UK's leading professional body for fishery owners, is contacting all its members and issuing them with advice and information on how best to combat and curtail the outbreak.

Disinfectant in net dips need to be kept fresh and it is advised that anglers and fishery owners immerse nets for a minimum of 15 minutes. Alternatively, some fisheries may insist that anglers use only nets supplied by the fishery itself.

As with all viruses and bacteria and most parasites, the KHV virus cannot survive on a dry host.

Koi herpes Virus, is a viral disease highly contagious to fish which may cause significant fish kills in koi and common carp. Historically, the first outbreak of KHV was reported in 1998 and confirmed in 1999 in Israel, where there is a highly successful international trade in breeding and rearing carp both for the table and for fisheries. Since then, other cases have been confirmed in the United States, Europe and Asia. In England there have been about 17 outbreaks in the last five years, an average of about three a year.-read more