Whangarei Queensland fruit fly update

• No fruit flies detected in traps in Zone A or in fruit collected and examined from Controlled Area properties.
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• Traps in Zone A are cleared daily and traps in Zone B are cleared and examined every three days. The first results from the Zone B traps should be available with tomorrow morning’s update.
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• MPI will release a regular update late morning each day reporting the previous day’s trapping results, unless there is a significant development which would prompt earlier advice.
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• 54 staff are out in the field today and around 50 staff are working on the response in Wellington.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• The Whangarei Countdown supermarket in Okara Drive and the PAK’nSAVE Supermarket in Walton Street are outside the Controlled Area and sales of fruit and vegetables continue as usual.
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• MPI asks that people who have bought fruit and vegetables outside the Controlled Area (for example in these supermarkets or the weekly local farmers market), but need to travel through this area, ensure the produce is in plastic bags for the journey.
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• 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.
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• MPI is running an extensive response trapping network, as set out in an internationally- validated standard, to lure any fruit flies that may be present. Gardens and rubbish bins in the Controlled Area are being inspected for any signs of fruit flies.
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• 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.
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• There are now 115 response traps in Zone A and 195 response traps in Zone B. The original 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.
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• 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 215 of these MPI disposal bins in the Controlled Area and at other high-risk sites. MPI is emptying the bins and safely disposing of the material.
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• 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.

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