The latest Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Surveillance magazine has just been published, providing new facts and figures about biosecurity surveillance, and the health status of New Zealand's animal and plant populations.

From October to December last year MPI Plant Health Incursion Investigators received 369 notifications. Of significance was the 60 suspected Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) cases that were reported, where investigations were opened because the bug couldn’t be ruled out initially. The good news is that 40 of these reports were negative for BMSB – the other 20 were post-border positive reports and urgent measures were undertaken by MPI to mitigate the risk.

Of great credit to the kiwifruit industry is the noticeable number of reports through to MPI for suspect BMSB by individuals from within our industry. General surveillance through the public remains a cornerstone of biosecurity within New Zealand and these reports are important as finding BMSB early is vital for a successful eradication response, ultimately protecting our industry form one of our most unwanted pests.

The BMSB high-risk season continues through until the end of April, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled (it’s a hitchhiker pest and even with our current border restrictions in place there is still a risk any returning travellers could unwittingly bring it with them) and if you see anything unusual that you suspect could be BMSB, be sure to catch it and get in touch us at KVH on 0800 665 825 or call the MPI hotline on 0800 665 825.

You can view the new edition of the Surveillance magazine online here.