News for 2006

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has received initial feedback from reviewer David Oughton on his work in reviewing the circumstances that led to the recent importation of sweet corn seed with low level presence of GM.

Further details of the snakehead found in a gutter in a Napier street on Monday night have come to light today.

New Zealand and European Union negotiators have agreed a proposal that would have significant economic benefits should New Zealand ever have a serious animal health disease such as Foot and Mouth (FMD).

As a result of a decision today by the High Court, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand has temporarily suspended imports of honey from Australia. The Court injunction was sought by the National Beekeepers’ Association of New Zealand which is challenging Biosecurity New Zealand’s recently introduced import health standard allowing honey and related bee products to be imported from Australia.

Biosecurity New Zealand surveillance of apiaries around varroa mite infested areas in Nelson has detected three apiaries infected with low levels of the mite.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has commissioned an independent enquiry into the circumstances surrounding recent imports of sweet corn seeds.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s (MAF) investigations have cleared the Mid-Canterbury plantings of Krispy King sweet corn and the Hawke’s Bay region planting of the GH2042 sweet corn variety, but seed tests for the Jubilee Plus/Dominion consignments planted in the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay regions have produced positive GM results and these crops will be destroyed.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is confident it has located all of the sweet corn that was cleared at the border in October and November 2006, but later determined to present a risk of containing genetically modified (GM) material at extremely low levels. Following further investigation, an additional 2,620kg consignment of potentially GM-contaminated corn has been identified. This now brings the total quantity of concern to 4,420kg.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is investigating the importation of genetically modified (GM) sweet corn that was inadvertently cleared by MAF’s Quarantine Service in October 2006.

A new varroa movement control line, that includes a five kilometre buffer zone, has been established in consultation with affected beekeepers. The controlled area notice declared in
June has been revoked and replaced with a new controlled area notice which took effect at 1 pm on Thursday 9 November 2006.

How climate change will affect human health risk is one of the topics being discussed at the fourth annual Biosecurity Summit being held in Wellington on 7-8 November 2006.

Minimum standards of welfare and recommended best practices for anyone responsible for dairy cattle are outlined in a new draft code of welfare to be released by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) tomorrow.

The suspect sample from the Rangitikei River is not didymo, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand announced today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is awaiting results of a suspect didymo sample being collected from the Rangitikei River this morning.

Biosecurity New Zealand is making good progress to identify an alternative insecticide to be used for feral bee baiting as part of the programme to eliminate varroa in the Nelson area, Biosecurity New Zealand Senior Policy Analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand has completed its first survey of commercial broiler and layer farms throughout the country and found no highly pathogenic avian influenza.

With the fishing season due to start on Sunday (October 1), Biosecurity New Zealand is reminding fishermen and other recreational freshwater users of the importance of cleaning their equipment between waterways.

Biosecurity New Zealand is delaying the start of feral bee baiting, which is part of the overall programme to eliminate varroa in the Nelson area, Incursion Response manager David Hayes said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is delaying the start of the feral baiting programme because it is been unable to obtain the necessary permission the company that owns the rights to the fipronil formulation.

A number of cucumber fruit fly eggs (Tephritidae Bactrocera cucumis) were found on Monday 11 September in a rock melon consignment from Australia.

A national survey into New Zealanders’ attitudes towards the use of animals in research, testing and teaching (RTT), commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), has provided important new information about what New Zealanders really think about the use of animals in RTT.

Not long ago Aucklanders were keeping their eyes peeled for Jin the escaped Auckland Zoo otter. Now they’re again being asked to report sightings of red-vented bulbul birds.

Notification of the numbers of animals used in research, testing and teaching was released today, in the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC) Annual Report.

Biosecurity New Zealand and the South Island Varroa Control Group will start the first phase of an agreed programme to eliminate varroa from the Nelson area this week, senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand’s latest 100 high-risk site didymo monitoring survey has been completed with five new detections – all of them in previously affected catchments or in rivers close by.

Biosecurity New Zealand will put out the draft management plan to South Island beekeepers for their comment this week, says Paul Bolger, Senior Policy Analyst with Biosecurity New Zealand.

Biosecurity New Zealand is starting its comprehensive movement control and management programme to slow the spread of varroa in the South Island this week, policy manager Paul Bolger said today

Biosecurity New Zealand and a combined Marlborough-based industry and council group will be working together to help fight the marine pest Didemnum vexillum.

Biosecurity New Zealand is about to put in place revised control measures for beekeepers in the Nelson area, following decisions by the Government last week, Manager Surveillance and Response David Hayes said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand discovered an apiary infected with varroa well outside the 10km zone around Nelson on Saturday, Surveillance and Response Manager David Hayes said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is carrying out a variety of activities in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions to preserve future varroa management options, Surveillance and Response Manager David Hayes said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is currently investigating the detection of a single adult specimen of the invasive sea squirt Styela clava on the hull of a commercial fishing vessel in Nelson.

Biosecurity New Zealand has completed the first survey of broiler farms throughout New Zealand and found no notifiable avian influenza virus in the farms tested.

The completion of a comprehensive testing programme for notifiable Avian Influenza has clearly demonstrated that the New Zealand Poultry meat industry is free of notifiable avian influenza, Poultry Industry Association executive director Michael Brooks said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand (BNZ), part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), today issued a new import health standard for honey and related bee products from Australia.

Biosecurity New Zealand’s Varroa response team met with stakeholders in Nelson this morning (Friday 7 July), senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today. The meeting was attended by representatives from the beekeeping, horticulture, arable and pastoral sectors, as well as from local government and iwi.

The suspected varroa find on Durville Island has proved to be negative following laboratory examination, Biosecurity New Zealand senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is expecting all testing of high risk apiaries to be completed by the middle of next week, Biosecurity New Zealand senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Varroa response survey teams yesterday started testing apiaries near Hokitika associated with varroa infected apiaries in the Nelson area, Biosecurity New Zealand senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Following continued testing for varroa in the Nelson area, another 3 apiaries are suspected to be infected with the Varroa bee mite, This brings the total number of apiaries suspected or confirmed as infected with varroa to 21, Biosecurity senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand has today (June 23) implemented a two kilometre movement control zone around a site where a Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) nest was found at Whirinaki, north of Napier.

Testing of hives associated with apiaries found to contain varroa bee mite is underway, Biosecurity senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

A national surveillance programme for the varroa bee mite has detected affected hives at two sites near Stoke in the Nelson region, Biosecurity New Zealand senior policy analyst Paul Bolger said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand, part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), is consulting on a seed testing protocol for lucerne/alfalfa seed (Medicago sativa), similar to testing already in place for maize, canola and soybean seed.

Biosecurity New Zealand has today endeavoured to exterminate a Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) nest found at Whirinaki near Napier.

Biosecurity New Zealand has issued the North Otago Irrigation Company an exemption under the Biosecurity Act allowing it to use potentially affected water in its scheme, Biosecurity New Zealand Director Post-Clearance Peter Thomson said today.

A national didymo delimiting survey has been completed with no positive samples for the North Island, Biosecurity New Zealand Surveillance and Response manager David Hayes said today.

Biosecurity New Zealand head Dr Barry O'Neil has been elected president of the world organisation for animal health, the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), at a meeting in Paris on Friday (26 May).

An investigation by the MAF Quarantine Service has uncovered the prohibited importation of raw minced pork cutlets from Korea, Biosecurity New Zealand announced today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is investigating the occurrence of a new fungus in Northland that has been found in one orchard and confirmed present in a sample collected from Trounson Kauri Park.  The fungus was detected as a result of a MAF Operational Research funded project to determine the species of Phytophthora present in New Zealand using new DNA technology. This work was undertaken by collaborative project between Landcare Research, ENSIS and HortResearch.

The West Auckland painted apple moth and Mt Wellington fall webworm moth populations have been declared eradicated, Biosecurity Minister Jim Anderton announced today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is moving into a longer-term phase of its response to the invasive sea squirt, Styela clava.

Didymo has been found in the Ahuriri River in Canterbury, Biosecurity New Zealand announced today.

Clover root weevil has been detected in the South Island near Christchurch airport by AgResearch during a trap testing programme.

Didymo has been confirmed in the Waitaki River, Biosecurity New Zealand announced today.

Biosecurity New Zealand is asking residents in the Hillmorton and Hoon Hay suburbs of Christchurch to be on the lookout for Huntsman spiders after three home owners in the area reported finding the spiders on their properties.