Source: Auckland Council
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in Auckland’s Birkdale area have been lifted after no further evidence of the Oriental fruit fly was found in the area.
Biosecurity New Zealand, the biosecurity arm of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) announced the update today.
Phil Brown, Auckland Council Head of Natural Environment Delivery, welcomes the news.
“After a seven-week operation in Birkdale, it’s welcome news to hear that Biosecurity New Zealand is closing out the operation. Thank you to the residents and businesses for their support including following the restrictions, sharing information with their neighbours and helping to protect our natural environment and economy,” says Phil Brown.
Successful end to fruit fly operation
The timeline for the operation period is based on scientific advice about the life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly – so Biosecurity New Zealand can be confident that they are not dealing with a breeding population.
During the operation, more than 2000 individual visits were made to check the 116 fruit fly traps in the Birkdale area throughout the response, over 470 biosecurity bins were distributed in the community to collect produce waste for safe disposal and more than 954 kilos of were fruit collected and examined for any signs of fruit fly eggs or larvae.
All Aucklanders are encouraged to take full advantage of the food scraps collection service and join thousands in the region who have already helped turn over 40 million kgs of food scraps into clean energy.
Here’s some summer tips to beat the Autumn heat and you can also request an additional food scraps bin by contacting us.
A quick and collaborative response
On 20 February 2025, a single male Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) was identified from a backyard surveillance trap in the suburb of Birkdale, Auckland.
Biosecurity New Zealand mounted an operation to determine if there were more fruit flies and get rid of any population.
A controlled area notice was put in place which restricted the movement of fruits and vegetables, and approximately 100 extra fruit fly traps within a 1500m area of the original find were placed, along with MPI staff on the ground to talk to the community.
This was soon after a similar operation in Papatoetoe and Māngere.
Since then, no further adult fruit flies, eggs, larvae or pupae have been found. MPI is satisfied that the restrictions can be lifted, and response operations can be closed.
While restrictions are lifted, stay vigilant. If you think you’ve spotted an Oriental fruit fly, eggs, or larvae/maggots in your fruit, call Biosecurity New Zealand (MPI) right away at 0800 80 99 66.
MPI will continue as normal to check the 7800 fruit fly traps around the country, including hundreds of traps on the North Shore.
