Whangarei Queensland fruit fly
Whangarei Queensland fruit fly
Situation update 3 - 6
April 2014
• The first clearance of Zone A traps was
completed yesterday evening and no fruit fly were detected.
Traps in Zone A are cleared daily and traps in Zone B are
cleared and examined every three days.
•
• Fruit
collected from properties near the fruit fly detection has
been examined with no fruit fly detected.
•
• A
number of public submissions of suspect flies were examined,
with no fruit fly detected.
•
• MPI will
publicly announce the results of the previous day’s
trapping in this update late morning the following day,
unless there is a significant
find.
•
• Approximately 60 staff are out in the
field today.
•
• As previously reported, there
are restrictions on the movement of fruit and some
vegetables out of a defined Controlled Area around where the
single male Queensland fruit fly was found on April 1. The
Controlled Area is a circular zone extending 1.5km from the
location of the fly find in Parihaka and takes in areas of
Parihaka, Riverside and central
Whangarei.
•
• Whole fruit and vegetables (except
for leafy and root vegetables) cannot be moved out of the
Controlled Area, although fruit and veges can be carried
into the Area.
•
• The restrictions are an
important precaution while MPI investigates whether any
further flies are present. If there are undetected flies out
there, the measures will help prevent their spread out of
the area.
•
• The Whangarei Countdown supermarket
in Okara Drive and the PAK’nSAVE Supermarket in Walton
Street are not inside the Controlled Area and sales of fruit
and vegetables continue as usual.
•
• MPI asks
that people who have bought fruit and vegetables outside the
Controlled Area (for example in these supermarkets or the
local farmers market), but need to travel through this area,
ensure that the produce is in plastic bags for the
journey.
•
• Full information about the
Controlled Area and the restrictions, including maps and
full instructions is at: www.mpi.govt.nz – follow the
fruit fly button.
•
• MPI is now running an
extensive response trapping network to lure any fruit flies
that may be present. Gardens and rubbish bins in the
affected area are being inspected for any signs of fruit
flies.
•
• The Controlled Area comprises two
zones – Zone A extends 200m from the site of the detection
and Zone B goes from that 200m boundary out to
1500m.
•
• There are now 109 response traps in
Zone A and 188 response traps in Zone B. The fruit fly was
found in a surveillance trap that is part of MPI’s
national surveillance programme. There are 13 of these
routine surveillance traps in the Controlled
Area.
•
• Traps from Zone A are being checked
daily and traps from Zone B are being cleared every three
days.
•
• The next results of examinations of the
Zone A traps will be available tomorrow morning Monday 7
April.
•
• Residents in the Controlled Area have
been advised to dispose of all fruit and vegetable waste
through in-sink waste disposal units (where they have them)
or in bins provided by MPI. There are 205 of these MPI
disposal bins in the Controlled Area. MPI is emptying the
bins and safely disposing of the
material.
•
• MPI has field laboratory facilities
in place examining fruit collected from gardens in the
Controlled Area and also to identify any suspect insects
collected. Again, no further fruit flies have been
found.
•
Background information about MPI border
protection
In response to the recent Queensland fruit fly
detections in Whangarei (in both January and this current
April find), plus as part of routine adjustments to its
operations, MPI has boosted biosecurity activities at our
key international airports, international mail centre and
transitional facilities in Auckland and Whangarei. Current
activities include:
• biosecurity quarantine inspectors
have increased their questioning and risk assessment of
passengers from risk areas (i.e. Australia and French
Polynesia) at all international airports. This will lead to
an increase in passengers directed for inspection or x-ray
screening
•
• detector dogs are being used more,
including on cruise ships arriving at Opua, Tauranga and
Auckland.
•
• there is also 100 percent dog
coverage on high risk mail items at Auckland International
Mail Centre
•
• the 18 Transitional Facilities in
Auckland that currently receive fruit fly host material will
be audited to check that they are running to requirements
and to raise awareness of fruit fly.
•
• While
there are no fresh produce transitional facilities in
Whangarei, all transitional facilities in Whangarei will be
visited as a precautionary measure to check compliance with
MPI requirements and to raise awareness of fruit fly. See
here for a description of ‘transitional
facility’:http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/regs/trans
•
• An
audit of vessel waste disposal procedures is
underway.
•
As a matter of course, all produce
imports to New Zealand are made under strict biosecurity
requirements – generally treatment pre-shipment or with
certification from exporting governments that the produce
complies with MPI’s rules.
All commercial vessel traffic into the Whangarei area enters and receives biosecurity clearance at Marsden Point, well away from Whangarei city.
There are virtually no imports of fruit fly host material through Marsden Point. Cargo imports through Marsden Point are typically bulk liquids, fertilisers and stock feed.
Arriving yachts into Northland receive biosecurity clearance at either Opua or Marsden Cove and have been inspected and cleared of any fruit or vegetables before moving to the upper harbour.
ends