Legal controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe will remain in place for the next few weeks as part of the response to the discovery of a single male Oriental fruit fly earlier this month.
On the 3rd of January 2025, a single male Oriental fruit fly was found in a surveillance trap in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe. Biosecurity New Zealand mounted an operation to determine whether there were more fruit flies and eliminate any population to protect the horticulture industry and home gardens.
"We’ve had fantastic support from the South Auckland community and sector groups to date, and we’re asking for that to continue just a little longer out of an abundance of caution. It is vital to our success in keeping fruit fly out of New Zealand," said Biosecurity New Zealand’s commissioner, North Mike Inglis.
"To date, no other Oriental fruit flies have been found in surveillance traps, which is very encouraging. We’ll continue to regularly check fruit fly traps, and specialist staff in our mobile field laboratory will cut up and inspect fruit and vegetables collected in the area for any signs of larvae. So far, more than 200kg of produce has been examined."
Inglis said the restrictions were anticipated to remain in place until mid-February so they could be confident that there was no breeding population. This timeframe has been based on scientific advice about the life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly.
Legal controls have prohibited the movement of fruit and vegetables out of the specified controlled area around where the fruit fly was found. The restrictions have been critical to protecting our horticultural sector and exports.
"There have been 12 previous incursions in New Zealand, which we have successfully eradicated, so we have very strong and detailed operational plans to guide our work. The fruit fly poses no risk to human health, but there would be an economic cost to the horticulture industry if allowed to establish here."
The Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) can affect over 300 hosts, including apple, kiwifruit, citrus, and tomatoes. A population of Oriental fruit flies would cause control costs and production losses.
Some countries might stop accepting New Zealand's exported produce. The young stages (maggots) feed inside the fruit, causing it to rot and become unmarketable. Larvae look like white long-grain rice.
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