Emergency areas for Giant Invasive Iguana and Fruit Fly species
In continuing efforts to protect Fiji from the harmful effects of pests and diseases, the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji ( BAF) takes steps where deemed necessary. Currently there are a total of seven Declarations of Biosecurity Emergency Areas in place.
The action of declaring an area as a Biosecurity Emergency Area is undertaken to counter the existence of some other biosecurity threat, which requires urgent action, whether by eradication, containment or other response.
In the previous weeks we had looked into three Emergency Declarations which are currently in place for parts of Fiji. These are for Asian Subterranean Termites, for Bovine Tuberculosis and Bovine Brucellosis.
In this week’s feature we take a look into the Declaration of Biosecurity Emergency Areas for the Giant Invasive Iguana (“GII”) and the Fruit Fly species as of
September 11, 2020 .
The Declaration outlines the following: ecurity Emergency Areas for Giant Invasive Iguana (Iguana Iguana) Pursuant to Legal Notice No. 82 of 2020, BAF has declared the whole islands of Qamea, Matagi, Taveuni, Laucala, Vuibani and other surrounding islets as a
Biosecurity Emergency Area for Giant Invasive Iguana. Under this Declaration of Biosecurity Emergency Area, there is a prohibition on the movement of all stages of the Giant Invasive Iguana, including eggs, within, into and out of the declared areas. As with other declarations, this is in place to prohibit
people from spreading the
Giant Invasive Iguana intentionally to other parts of Fiji whilst programmes are also in place to eradicate the Giant Invasive Iguana.
2) Declaration of Biosecurity Emergency Areas for Fruit Fly species (Bactrocera Kirki and Bactrocera Obscura) Pursuant to Legal Notice No. 86 of 2020, the whole of Rotuma is a Biosecurity Emergency Area for the fruit fly species (Bactrocera Kirki and Bactrocera Obscura). This declaration prohibits the movement of all stages of the fruit fly species (Bactrocera Kirki and Bactrocera Obscura) including eggs, larvae and pupa. There is also a prohibition on the movement of host materials out of Rotuma. Such host material includes all fruits found in Rotuma.
The purpose of putting a prohibition on the movement of GII, an invasive alien species, is due to its devastating nature, i.e. Damaging of crops, soil and infrastructure which, in turn, can have considerable harmful effects on the country’s economy. They are only found in the northern islands of Fiji, in particular areas that are mentioned in the Declaration, and there is a containment and eradication programme in place to eradicate this pest. BAF is undertaking all possible measures to contain and eradicate this pest.
Furthermore, the purpose of prohibiting the movement of all stages of the two fruit fly species (Bactrocera kirki and Bactrocera obscura) and its host material is to contain the spread of the two fruit fly species to Rotuma and not spread the same to other islands in Fiji as it has devastating effects on the agricultural industry. The agriculture sector is critical to Fiji’s economy and BAF will continue its efforts to work towards protecting the sector against the harmful effects of such pests.
Failure to adhere to the Legal Notices above will result in hefty penalties being issued against perpetrators.
For more information please contact one of the nearest BAF offices.
In next week’s feature we will focus on the Biosecurity Emergency Declaration in place for American Foulbrood and Varroa Mite.