In an attempt to control the escalating Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) epidemic sweeping Japan, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei has announced that Japan is considering suspending exports of carp.
The virus, for which there is no cure, has already claimed well over 1000 tons of carp and has cost the industry millions.
The disease has hit a number of prefectures spanning the length of Japan and experts believe there may be more than one infection route.
A report in the Daily Yomiuri states that Koi affected by the virus may have contracted the illness via a different infection route to the carp suffering from KHV elsewhere in Japan.