The biosecurity response to the find of a single male Oriental fruit fly in a backyard surveillance trap in Papatoetoe continues to make good progress.

There are extra traps in place, stepped up checks, legal controls introduced, special bins delivered for fruit and vegetable waste disposal, and a mobile lab in place.

Signage, letter drops, community engagement and translation of materials has also been underway this week, letting those affected know how they continue to support the response and safely dispose of fruit and vegetables within the two restriction zones.

KVH staff, alongside industry personnel from nearby Punchbowl and APAC, have been key members on-the-ground since these activities got underway and we thank everyone for their great efforts – especially at short notice, during the holiday period.

Image: Punchbowl, APAC, and New Zealand Biosecurity Services Limited staff in the field assisting with the Papatoetoe fruit fly response.

A response governance group continues to lead the investigation, and KVH is part of this group, alongside other horticulture industry groups. We will be taking a lead role in ensuring the most appropriate action is taken to minimise any impact on kiwifruit growers, and we will keep you updated as the investigation progresses.

The main points to note at this stage are:

• An area of Papatoetoe is under a Controlled Area Notice.
• Effective from 4 January (and likely to be in place for at least two weeks) this notice restricts movement of fruit and vegetables to help prevent the spread of any fruit flies – if there are more out there.
• The controlled area has two zones – A and B. Zone A is a 200m zone, with 198 properties. Zone B covers a 1500m area, with 5,470 properties.
• A detailed map of the controlled area and a full description of the boundaries and rules in place for those within each zone is available here.
• Signage, bins, door knocking, and leaflet drops have all taken place in these zones.
• A mobile laboratory to examine fruit and vegetables collected from around Papatoetoe for Oriental fruit fly larvae and eggs has been set up and has processed more than 100kg of fruit so far and found no larvae or eggs.
• The mobile lab work and checking of fruit helps to provide an extra layer of certainty that there are no other fruit flies out there.

Oriental fruit fly can affect over 300 hosts including kiwifruit, apples, citrus, and tomatoes. Adult flies lay eggs into fruit. The young stages (maggots) feed inside the fruit, causing it to rot and become unmarketable. It requires a big effort to keep fruit flies out of New Zealand and together we can continue to ensure we protect our businesses and orchards from the potential impacts posed.

Significant response updates will continue to be posted on the KVH website as they occur.

Useful resources

• Biosecurity New Zealand website for detailed response maps, information, and resources, in many languages.

• KVH Oriental fruit fly fact sheet.

• KVH Oriental fruit fly identification guide.