Letter to the Editor Thursday April 17, 2014

Fruit fly pathways

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) shares your columnist Joe Carr's concerns about the seriousness of the recent Queensland fruit fly find at Parihaka (High odds, high states, April 10).

MPI does not want an outbreak of this destructive pest in Northland, or anywhere in New Zealand. And that is why the ministry has mobilised a large response to prevent the establishment of a breeding population.

Mr Carr appears to lack knowledge of how biosecurity operates in Northland.

The fact is no international craft make Whangarei Basin their port of first arrival into New Zealand. This is strictly prohibited. All international craft arriving in Whangarei are cleared by our quarantine inspectors at either Marsden Point or Marsden Cove - some 20 kilometres away from Whangarei. Vessels are only permitted to enter the upper harbour after inspection for risk goods and biosecurity clearance.

These facts weaken Mr Carr's argument that the insect must have arrived from a moored boat.

The reality is at this stage we do not know how the fly arrived in Whangarei. There are a range of potential pathways by which the fly could have arrived, including commercial consignments of produce, arriving passengers and arriving recreational yachts.

MPI has been looking at all of these pathways in some depth since the January fruit fly find and we cannot rule any of them in or out at this time.

STEVE GILBERT
Head of Border Staff
MPI