The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sequenced the virus's genome, which is thought to be new to science, but has not confirmed that it is directly linked to the fish mortality.
Although the virus was discovered in association with a fish kill, more work is needed to understand if it is the primary culprit.
In other news, countries in South and South East Asia are making further commitments to tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and improving fish traceability.
Thailand and other South East Asian countries made a very important and significant step in combating IUU fishing through the adoption, for the first time, of a Joint Declaration (JD).
The JD will help foster multi-lateral cooperation for enhancing the competitiveness of ASEAN fish and fishery products in compliance with international standards and regulations to ensure sustainable food security of the region.
Helping the Maldives' one-by-one tuna fisheries ensure the sustainable source of their catch, and that the tuna is not from IUU fishing, is a new online Fisheries Information System (FIS).
Launched by the International Pole & Line Foundation, the FIS will monitor catch logbooks, fish purchase information, fishing vessel licence information and catch certificates in the fisheries.
