SOME rare good news on the invasive insect quarantine front: The fight against the ruinous Queensland fruit fly is going well enough that stricter quarantine measures have been lifted in Bayswater and Belmont.
The Qfly was spotted in Bayswater in March 2023. It preys on many backyard fruit trees and is a serious threat to agriculture if it gets loose.
Bayswater and Belmont were heavily hit and were declared “corrective action zones”, and they’ve been under strict requirements to cook, freeze or solarise any fruit before disposing of it (solarising is sun-baking fruit in a plastic bag to kill the Qfly). Residents were also required to pick up all fallen fruit within three days.
Eradication
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development announced this week that the eradication process had gone well enough that those measures could now be lifted, while adding these practices are still “highly recommended” to prevent the Qfly or other pests from taking hold.
There’s still a huge quarantine zone with a radius stretching 15km out from Bayswater where some lesser restrictions apply, like needing to process any commercially-grown fruit before it can be shipped out of the quarantine zone.
DPIRD chief plant biosecurity officer Sonya Broughton said in a press release people should remain vigilant.
“The biosecurity response is making good headway and the program is now being wound back as we move into the next phase of the campaign,” Dr Broughton said.
“While baiting and property inspections have ceased, monitoring and surveillance will continue.
“The department thanks residents, businesses and industry for their continued support to eradicate this potentially damaging pest.”
The quarantine zone has to stay in place until at least December 4, a provision triggered by a single fruit fly being detected outside the Bayswater area back in September. Official rules are up at www.agric.wa.gov.au/qflyupdate
Perth Voice Interactive 
Leave a comment