Authorities in Sumatra have asked fish farmers to take a year off from carp production after hundreds of tons of fish have been killed by Koi Herpes Virus.
According to a report from The Jakarta Post, KHV has been responsible for widespread deaths among carp in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, as PFK reported last month.
Ridwan Batubara, a fisheries office chief, told The Jakarta Post, that the authorities were concerned that the virus would return if fish farmers continued to cultivate their fish in the lake.
"The farmers are the ones who will suffer additional losses if they don't do something. Their fish would certainly die because the virus has spread everywhere," he told The Jakarta Post.
He told the paper that KHV has spread to other areas of the province, moving from Haranggol at the beginning of November and moving into Lake Toba, and around Tigaras, Simanindo, Samosir, Karo, Toba Samosir to as far as the North Tapanuli area.
The thousands of fish farmers who use the lake have reportedly suffered massive finanical losses due to the spread of the virus.
Timbul Saragih, vice chairman of the Haranggaol Fish Farmers Association estimated that the value of the losses could hit Rp 44 billion.