The number of varroa mite cases in New South Wales has risen to 264, with the confirmation of the state’s most northerly detection to date.
In addition to this new detection in the state’s north at Barcoongere, north of Coffs Harbour, there have been an additional nine infested premises detected in the Kempsey cluster.
On Friday a new plan was adopted at the National Management Group (NMG) meeting for tackling varroa mite.
The NMG supported the new more risk-based approach to new eradication zones, based on the advice of the Consultative Committee for Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP).
A scientific risk assessment will apply to each new detection, with a number of elements considered to determine zone size and euthanasia of hives, similar to what’s been applied to red zones in the Sunraysia and Riverina regions.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries’ deputy director general of biosecurity and food safety, John Tracey, said the size of future red and purple zones could be smaller than current zones, on a case-by-case basis depending on the level of risk identified.
“So, things like length of time the infestation’s been there, the mite load, the certainty of links and traces, and local factors that may influence the spread of varroa [will be taken into account],” he said.
Dr Tracey said the new approach would hopefully reduce the impact on beekeepers.
“It allows more beekeepers to get back to business, and it will reduce impact in terms of the number of hives that need to be euthanased and the ongoing surveillance cost associated with a broader zone,” he said.
Australian Honey Bee Industry Council chief executive Danny Le Feuvre said he did not think it would make beekeepers happy, but he hoped it would provide them greater certainty.
“What this does do is just speeds up the process and the decision making to make sure that beekeepers aren’t left in limbo for weeks on end,” he said.
“The CCEPP will be able to make a decision within 24 hours [based] on what those new detections look like.
“It also allows us to move forward in the short term, while we are still trying to figure out through the bureaucracy process, what the future of the response is.”
But the Crop Pollination Association of Australia’s president, Clarenza beekeeper Steve Fuller, said beekeepers needed direction and resources.
“I think they’re grasping at straws, I really feel that this is just another way of trying to pull the wool over the beekeepers [eyes],” he said.
He is concerned about the long term impact of the control program.
“Every time we find an area that goes red, we’re not allowed back in there for three years, and if we go back in there, we can’t take the hives out,” he said.
