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Every New Zealander has a role to play in preventing pests and diseases from getting here or helping to stop their spread if they do arrive. It takes all of us to protect what we’ve got. KVH produces resources that help every person with a connection to the kiwifruit industry know that they also have a special role in managing the threat of unwanted pests and diseases. Sydney Hines, Sybton Hort - biosecurity best practice ensures longevity of production Steve Thomas, Thomas Bros - good biosecurity means we will spot the new and unusual quickly. Campbell Wood, Pivot Horticulture - biosecurity is part of day-to-day best business practice.Darshan Singh, grower and Hume Pack-N-Cool - biosecurity protects our family orchards for future generations. Kiwifruit community biosecurity booklet - guidance about how everyone in or close to the kiwifruit community can help identify biosecurity risks and address them. Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital (TMBC) This is a collaboration between Tauranga Moana iwi, local industries and business, science institutions, educators, central and local government. Its purpose is leading and taking collaborative action towards biosecurity excellence. This coalition is an exemplar for regional collaboration and partnership. Our TMBC focus is on working connecting our communities to the importance of biosecurity; and building collaboration across iwi, hapu, community organisations, industries, science and Matauranga Māori experts, central government and local government to achieve biosecurity excellence. Visit the TMBC website to learn more. Biosecurity Excellence at the Port of Tauranga This award-winning partnership between the Port, several primary industries, and central and local government agencies to prevent and respond to biosecurity risks through the Port of Tauranga. All groups have come together with the goal of having no incursions through the Port. This is achieved by working collaboratively and being committed to biosecurity excellence, through effective biosecurity awareness and the use of the very best tools and technologies, backed by science. This partnership is an exemplar of collaboration within a region, where a Port, a regulator and industry all work together. Excellence programme's pest posters Excellence programme's annual pest pest calendar September 2024 - August 2025Excellence programme's most unwanted pests playing cardsFrontline staff "spot, snap, report" lunch bags Excellence programme flyerExcellence programme poster Biosecurity Blitz regular poster sample - inductions Biosecurity Blitz regular newsletter sample Excellence programme research findings: biosecurity understanding, perceptions, and behaviourExcellence programme research findings: article

Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland North Shore suburb of Birkdale have been lifted after no further evidence of the Oriental fruit fly was found in the area. The decision to end the operation follows seven weeks of intensive fruit fly trapping and inspections of hundreds of kilograms of fruit, with no further detections. Residents and businesses in the affected area are being thanked for their support of the movement controls, keeping an eye out for fruit flies, and safely disposing of fruit in provided bins. The support from the North Shore community has been vital to protect our industry and the wider horticultural sector. National routine surveillance will continue, with New Zealand’s system of nearly 8,000 fruit fly traps spread across the country, set for three exotic fruit fly species of concern: the Queensland fruit fly, Mediterranean fruit fly and Oriental fruit flies. KVH thanks industry personnel from APAC who collaborated with us on fruit fly response activities in Birkdale.

We have a new Snapshot podcast online, where we chat with Ryan, Chief Quarantine Officer for the Ministry for Primary Industries, about the work his teams does across biosecurity. Ryan manages the Tauranga, Hamilton, and Northland regions – there are biosecurity teams in all three regions – and in the chat we focus on the way they manage cruise ships, transitional facilities, and various partnerships that they have with KVH and the kiwifruit industry. The Snapshot podcasts are free and available now on SoundCloud and Apple iTunes.

For those in the Bay of Plenty, the Great Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Hunt is starting tomorrow. Keen to hunt the 'Most Wanted' invasive insects and critters around? Put your wits and skills to the test. Search the spots, answer the clues, and then report what you find. This year, there’s a new site at Waihi Beach joining the Mount, Tauranga waterfront, Katikati, and Te Puke. For further information and to get involved in this epic hunt, with loads of prizes up for grabs visit the Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital (TMBC) website. KVH is a TMBC funding partner and member, bringing together mātauranga Māori, industry, science, education, and government to protect the Bay – and New Zealand’s largest kiwifruit growing region - from pests and diseases.

KVH recently linked with Scott Wilson, our new Gisborne regional coordinator, in a visit to reconnect with growers for an update on how vine health in the region is tracking following the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. See a set of images from the visit here. Pleasingly, growers are seeing a marked improvement in vine health as they work to address drainage and compaction issues and continue replanting with the more water resilient Bounty rootstock. The visit also allowed an opportunity to attend an orchard soil assessment discussion held by Agrotechnovation who presented on the value of physical soil classification as a tool for growers to uncover and improve issues impacting orchard performance, and particularly for those on silted sites. Growers from kiwifruit, citrus and grape sectors attended, as well as Zespri staff and the local Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Farm Advisory contact, providing a chance to further build regional networks and connections. The KVH team also met Gisborne pack-house and nursery contacts who connect with us through biosecurity elements of the Pathway Plan including biosecurity plans and Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme accreditations. We acknowledge and thank all those who took time from their busy schedules to meet with the KVH team on their day and share their knowledge and insights.

Biosecurity works – and there’s data to prove it. Prevention pays off and, when applied consistently and properly, protects new areas from incursions. New research published in the Conversation shows that biosecurity policies work to protect the environment and are likely to be cheaper than the cost of control or eradication. Introduced species now cost the global economy an estimated $423 billion annually. This article talks about a century of Antarctic data proving biosecurity policies work. Under the web of agreements governing Antarctica, cargo must be checked for any sign of plants, seeds, insects, and rodents. Visitors must ensure the items they bring are clean. In new research, scientists analysed a century of data on how many species have been introduced to the icy continent and surrounding sub-Antarctic islands. Though there’s little human presence there, many species have been introduced and several have established. But across most sub-Antarctic islands, the rate of introduced species has remained steady, or slowed, after biosecurity policies were introduced, even as more humans arrived. The exception was the Antarctic continent itself, where species introductions are increasing. This is likely due to surging visitor numbers and inconsistent biosecurity efforts between different nations and tourist operators. Image: Expeditioners cleaning their boots at a biosecurity checkpoint. Credit: Murray Hamilton.