The movement of bees within New South Wales has been halted following the discovery last week of a deadly parasite at the Port of Newcastle.
The statewide emergency order, which took effect at 6pm on Sunday, aims to prevent the spread of Varroa destructor, commonly called varroa mite, and described as the number one threat for Australia’s bee industry.
Police along with biosecurity officers from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services have been tasked with overseeing compliance.
It means that all hives or bee products are in a state of lockdown.
Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW Dugald Saunders said they weren’t sure how and when the parasite got into the country but investigations were ongoing.
He also said the government was not taking any risks.
“The lockdown is a fairly strict one and it’s a message to all beekeepers both hobby and professionally that we need them to be helping monitor the situation and making sure that we don’t see varroa mite spread across the state,” he said.
An industry worth more than $70 million annually is at stake if the mite were to take hold.
“We know that people value the ability from an Australian beekeeper point of view and from a New South Wales point of view to say we are varroa mite-free,” Mr Saunders said.
“It means no reliance on chemicals to keep them at bay and it means we are the cleanest and greenest producers of honey around the world.”
The minister said he was also working with the industry to minimise the impact on food production.
The mite was first detected last Wednesday in two of the six hives used to monitor biosecurity at the port following a routine inspection.
It was also discovered in the hives of a nearby commercial beekeeper.
A fourth site in the vicinity has since emerged with hives across all the affected areas now destroyed.
