Whangarei Queensland fruit fly update
Whangarei Queensland fruit fly update
Situation update
6 - 9 April 2014
• No fruit flies detected in traps
from Zone A or B, or in fruit collected and examined from
Controlled Area properties.
•
• 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 came in last night and there were no fruit flies
found.
•
• 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.
•
• This will be the
last update sent directly to media outlets. The updates will
continue to be posted on the fruit fly web page each morning
by 11am. Visit: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/queensland-fruit-fly
•
• 51
staff are out in the field today, clearing traps and
disposal bins and collecting fruit for
sampling.
•
• Restrictions remain in place 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 outside 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 weekly local farmers
market), but need to travel through this area, ensure 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 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.
•
• 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 118 response traps in
Zone A and 200 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.
•
• 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 222 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.
•
• 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.
ends