MEDIA RELEASE Monday, 2 August 2010 |
| Port surveillance vital to keeping Australia free of bee pests |
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| Australia is the only major honey-producing country free of the deadly bee pest Varroa mite, and a report released today highlights the importance of surveillance efforts around ports to keep it that way. Future Surveillance Needs for Honeybee Biosecurity has confirmed the most likely way for exotic bee pests to reach Australian shores is hitching a ride in ships and their cargoes. It reviews current methods and provides a framework for assessing any proposed future surveillance systems against their cost. Pollination services to agriculture are worth close to $4 billion dollars, so even a 10 per cent cut in production as a result of pests or disease would result in losses in excess of $350 million a year. The report has been released by the Pollination Program, a research and development strategy jointly funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL). Gerald Martin, the Chairman of the Pollination Program, says everyone agrees that surveillance is vital, but it comes at a price.  “You have to weigh up the likelihood of the pest getting in where you’re watching; whether it can be detected fast enough to stop significant damage; what you can actually do once it’s found; and the amount of damage versus the cost of surveillance,” Mr Martin said. “The Varroa mite is the bee pest considered most likely to reach Australia and create havoc if it does. The economic impact when it became established in North America in the 1980s is estimated to be up to US$14.6 billion . “It’s obvious from this report that biosecurity services such as AQIS are vital in protecting our borders and need to be backed up by the National Sentinel Hive Program and similar surveillance methods to prevent accidental migration of bees which may bring with them pests and diseases,” Mr Martin said. In developing the report, a number of experts were brought together for a one-day workshop, including Commonwealth, State and Industry representatives with experience with the honeybee or horticulture industries and skills in economics, modelling, risk assessment and bee pathology and biology. “There was unanimous agreement that the use of sentinel hives at seaports was the most likely method to detect exotic bee mites quickly,” Mr Martin said. “These hives are set up close to ports and checked regularly for new bees as well as pests and diseases. “The industry is keen to trial various options to complement the systems in place and we now have the basis for making accurate decisions on the economic merits of any other surveillance methods proposed in the future,” Mr Martin said. Future Surveillance Needs for Honeybee Biosecurity is now available to download free from the Pollination page of the RIRDC website (www.rirdc.gov.au). |
| Ends Photo caption - Gerald Martin, Chairman of the Pollination Program. Please click on photo to download a high resolution image. Media contact: Peta MacDougall, 02 8204 3730; 0421 958 053 |
| The Pollination Program is a jointly funded partnership with the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The Pollination Program is managed by RIRDC and aims to secure the pollination of Australia’s horticultural and agricultural crops into the future on a sustainable and profitable basis. Research and development in this program is primarily to raise awareness to protect pollination in Australia. RIRDC funds for the program are provided by the Honeybee Program, with industry levies matched by funds provided by the Australian Government. Funding from HAL for the program is from the apple and pear, almond, avocado, cherry, vegetable and summerfruit levies and voluntary contributions from the dried prune and melon industries, with matched funds from the Australian Government. |
| This email was sent by Peta MacDougall, Cox Inall Communications, Level 2, 44 Mountain St, Ultimo, NSW 2007 to allison.priest@dpi.nsw.gov.au  |
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