MAF’s agriculture security system for fruit fly
In order that trade can continue without jeopardising New Zealand’s plant health status, MAF enforces an integrated system of technically justified and cost efficient practices aimed at maintaining New Zealand’s plant health status. Commercial product coming into New Zealand must meet particular import health standards. For fruit fly host material, this means exporting countries must have in place official control programmes for fruit fly prior to shipment.
Border inspection is used to check compliance with New Zealand’s im-port health standards, and applies not only to commercial consignments, but also to passengers, vessels and mail. Indeed, the biggest threat to New Zea-land’s horticultural industry comes not from regular commercial imports, but from the illegal introduction of in-fested produce into the country by unthinking or irresponsible passen-gers.
Passengers are encouraged to declare goods which they suspect may pose a risk. Two-thirds of interceptions of fruit fly-infested fruit made at the border this year were from declared goods. The remainder resulted from the inspection of luggage from passengers who had not declared goods.
Quarantine detector dogs are now being trialed, and MAF is investigating using new x-ray technology which can detect organic material. The Biosecurity Act contains penalties of up to five years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine for individuals.
Plant pest surveillance is the next stage of the programme, and is the ‘backstop’ for New Zealand’s border inspection. It is recognised that not all possible means of entry for pests can be controlled, especially in the case of smuggling. Should a major pest such as fruit fly enter the country, it is important that it be detected and eradicated before it becomes well established. The current fruit fly surveillance system is designed as an early warning system. It also provides proof of the absence of fruit fly to our trading partners.
There are two parts to the surveillance system: passive surveillance, which involves using a variety of existing information sources such as agricultural and horticultural sources which, during the normal course of their work, collect surveillance information and are able to report on new pests; and active surveillance programmes such as the trapping system for fruit fly.
This latter system involves 7,385 traps nationwide which are located in populated areas, centres for trade and/or tourism, areas with a climate that particularly suits the fruit fly, and areas of significant horticultural activity. For example, there are about 350 traps in the Tauranga/Mount Maunganui/Whakatane area. In the Auckland area alone, there about 1,992 trimedlure traps, placed at 400 m spacings. Of these, 1,451 traps have been inspected at weekly intervals to ensure accurate monitoring of any spread of the recent Medfly incursion.
All traps nationwide are checked at fortnightly intervals: except those in the lower South Island during the winter. These are designed to detect possible accidental introduction of fruit fly by passengers/tourists travelling into commercial fruit growing areas from their original point of entry into the country.
The final part of the system is the exotic disease and pest response programme. If a pest such as fruit fly is found in a surveillance trap, an eradication programme based on a pre-defined management strategy is implemented. In the case of fruit fly, specialist teams are immediately mobilised for mapping, fruit monitoring, intensive bait and lure trapping, baiting and fruit disposal. There is also immediate communication with our trading partners who then evaluate how serious they consider the event to be.
Contact for Enquiries
Manager, Strategic Science Team
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0115
Fax: +64 4 894 0731
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