SOUTH Australian fruit fly experts have travelled to Tasmania to support the Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment department’s fruit fly eradication efforts.
Two Primary Industries and Regions SA staff have shared expertise on fruit fly management and response methods that have worked in their state.
South Australia’s chief plant health officer Geoff Raven said an entomologist and plant health manager had been working with staff at the fruit fly incident control centre at Mount Pleasant, Launceston, this week.
“We eradicated fruit fly over 60 years ago. We might get incursions from time to time, but we apply spot baiting and sterile flies and it’s done and dusted fairly quickly,” Mr Raven said.
“We’re experienced at that and when you’re doing it for the first time, like Tasmania is, you glean support from others.”
Primary Industries minister Jeremy Rockliff said Tasmanian and South Australian government staff were collaborating to reduce the impact of fruit fly.
“Our fruit fly free status is very important to Tasmania, but it’s important to South Australia and Victoria as well. That’s why all states are pulling together and learning from each other’s responses,” Mr Rockliff said.
“We welcome and value their expertise and that will complement the expertise we have in Tasmania.”
The Taiwan market remains open to mainland Tasmanian fruit growers at this stage.
Fruit Growers Tasmania clarified that the fruit market to Taiwan was only closed to growers exporting fruit from Flinders Island and the Furneaux Group of islands, president Nic Hansen said.
“Advice is Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine will reconsider the market access once the larvae from Spreyton is potentially confirmed as Queensland Fruit Fly by Biosecurity Tasmania,” Mr Hansen said.
However, growers should be cautious in exporting to Taiwan as the market could close “with little warning”.
On Wednesday, Mr Rockliff said “the situation with the Taiwanese market remains fluid”.
- This story first appeared on The Advocate.
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