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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Virus killed carp on Manitoba lakes

By: Aldo Santin

1/03/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 1

A massive kill of carp last summer on Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin has been traced to a virus from a hobby fish.

Joe O'Connor, director of the provincial fisheries branch, said the cause of the fish kill has been found to be the koy herpes virus.

O'Connor said the koy herpes virus first appeared in Canada two years ago, when large numbers of dead carp were found in a single lake in Ontario. Last year, the virus spread to about a dozen lakes in Ontario and it made it's first appearance in Manitoba.

The koy herpes virus only affects koy, goldfish and carp and cannot spread to other species. O'Connor said the virus is spread by close contact, adding it's possible that if the Ontario scenario plays out here that the situation could be worse this summer.

O'Connor said the appearance of the koy herpes virus is proof of the dangers of introducing foreign species into Manitoba waters.

"Everyone talks about the potential risks of Devils Lake but here we have a fairly benign species, koy and goldfish, but it's the viruses they carry that can be harmful to our native species."

The virus was likely introduced by someone dumping koy or goldfish into Manitoba waterways, he said.

"People shouldn't be dumping sick goldfish or koy down their toilets or in open water," O'Connor said. "They should be humanely killed."

O'Connor said that carp isn't native to Manitoba, adding records show that it was introduced by European settlers in 1886. By 1950, carp were common throughout the province.

He said that carp can disrupt the habitat of native species such as pike and perch but added that carp has now become a commodity for commercial fishermen, who harvest about 300,000 kilograms of carp every year.

O'Connor said the new virus could jeopardize income for commercial fisherman, adding his staff will monitor the situation this summer.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 1, 2009 A5

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1 Comments

Posted by: Arnie M.

March 1, 2009 at 5:04 PM

Would Lake Manitoba not be better off without the carp? They are not natural here in the first place. I have seen them so thick in our rivers you could walk across without getting your feet wet. Many thanks if anyone knows the answer.