Fruit fly has the capacity to decimate Tasmania’s $100 million fruit growing industry.
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The four cases of fruit fly larvae detected in Tasmania – three on Flinders Island and one at Spreyton – in the past fortnight have Biosecurity Tasmania staff calling on residents to be extra vigilant when looking out for signs of the insect. And so we should.
Tasmania enjoys a reputation nationally and internationally as the place where the air is pristine, the water is pure and the produce is clean. Fruit fly can damage the latter, and has the potential to bring our producers to their knees.
Imagine the Apple Isle where the apples are potentially infested with fruit fly. Or biting into a plump, juicy Tasmanian cherry to find it has already been sampled.
Our fruit fly free status adds millions of dollars to the export value of Tasmanian produce, plus feeds into that clean, green reputation mentioned earlier.
A fruit fly infestation would be costly for the state in more ways than one: lost access to export markets, additional costs in eradication, ongoing baiting and insecticide use, loss of reputation and damage to our brand.
Biosecurity Tasmania implemented the Tasmanian Fruit Fly Operations Standard and established control zones around the Spreyton site and continued liaison and surveillance work at that site, and the three on Flinders Island.
This includes assessing the infected property and inspecting surrounding properties, removing susceptible fruit and vegetables, treating surrounding soil and establishing a trapping program.
Staff are also testing the larvae to determine the species (of the 14 fruit fly species of threat to mainland Australia, Queensland fruit fly and Mediterranean fruit fly pose the biggest risk to Tasmania) and whether the Spreyton larvae are connected to the Flinders Island insects.
As Tasmanian residents what role do we have in the fight against fruit fly? A big one.
By law we must report any signs of fruit fly to Biosecurity Tasmania on 6165 3774, but this is more than a legal issue.
If we are happy to consume Tasmanian produce, and are proud to show it off to visitors, we should also want to protect it.
This includes adhering to biosecurity regulations when coming to Tasmania and visiting farms, but also checking the fruit trees at our properties for signs of fruit fly. We all have a part to play in this fight.
