Source: Auckland Council
Biosecurity New Zealand has announced today that it has lifted restrictions on the movement of fruit and vegetables in Papatoetoe with no further fruit flies found in the area.
Dr Imogen Bassett, Head of Natural Environment Specialist Services, welcomes this news and acknowledges the efforts of the community to keep this unwanted pest out of Auckland.
“We know that these restrictions can be disruptive – a huge thanks to our community in Papatoetoe for stepping up to help protect our natural environment and economy and following the guidance from Biosecurity New Zealand and the council,” says Imogen.
Biosecurity New Zealand will be collecting their bins and removing signage over the next couple of days.
Kerbside collections resume
With biosecurity restrictions removed, normal kerbside collections can resume for the impacted area, including the return of food scraps collections for Zone A. The impacted area’s first normal collection will be tomorrow, on Tuesday 31 March.
Remember, you can ask the council for an additional food scraps bin for free, or request to have a broken or stolen bin replaced, by contacting us.
If you haven’t already, give your food scraps collection a try and join thousands of Aucklanders who have already helped turn over 60 million kgs of food scraps into clean energy.
A fast-moving operation
On 25 February, Biosecurity New Zealand announced the discovery of a single male Oriental fruit fly in a surveillance trap in Papatoetoe. Then, on 2 March, three more male Oriental fruit flies were found in the area.
Oriental fruit fly poses no human health risk, but there would be an economic cost to the horticulture industry if it were allowed to establish here.
Biosecurity New Zealand responded swiftly, ramping up trapping and inspection and Auckland Council followed quickly, ensuring the kerbside collections followed the Controlled Area Notice (CAN) in place that restricted the movement of fruit and vegetables in the area.
When announcing the end of the operation, Biosecurity New Zealand thanked the Papatoetoe community for its support which is critical to successfully find and eradicate these fruit flies.
The response timeframe set by Biosecurity New Zealand is based on scientific advice about the life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly and helps instil confidence that there’s no breeding population.
While restrictions are lifted, stay vigilant. If you think you’ve spotted an exotic fruit fly like the Oriental fruit fly or its eggs, or larvae/maggots in your fruit, call Biosecurity New Zealand (MPI) right away on 0800 80 99 66.
More information about what to look out for is available on MPI’s website.
MPI will continue as normal to check the 7,800 fruit fly traps around the country, including more than 4,600 in the Auckland area.
