September 26, 2023
The NSW Department of Primary Industries has stopped destroying suspect bee hives, increasing fears among beekeepers the varroa mite pest – which has been blamed for “colony collapse” internationally – could soon spread to Queensland.
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has reacted by temporarily freezing the issuing of movement permits from NSW.
On September 19, the National Management Group, the peak body responsible for the national response to varroa mite, confirmed eradication was no longer feasible and Australia would be “transitioning to management”.
The decision followed a recent spike in varroa mite detections in the Kempsey area of NSW which had made it clear varroa mites were more widespread than first thought.
The increase in detections, according to the NSW DPI, had also “stretched the eradication team’s responses to its technical limit”.
Under a new Control Order, all of NSW will now be considered either a Suppression Zone or a Management Zone.
The Management Zones will be in the Kempsey, Hunter and Central Coast regions (ie. the former eradication zones).
Until now, hives in these areas were destroyed with beekeepers offered compensation.
However, the movement restrictions and destruction of hives also had flow-on effects. Honey bees are critical for pollination in multiple industries, including almonds, avocados, apples, macadamias and melons.
The Varroa destructor mite was first detected in NSW in June 2022 near Newcastle.
The same month, a Movement Control Order was issued in Qeeensland to restrict the movement of bees, bee hives, bee products – including honey – and used bee-keeping equipment from NSW into the State.
However, in January this year, these restrictions were relaxed to allow beekeepers to apply for permits to move bees and related materials from parts of NSW which had been declared free of varroa mites. These areas are now part of NSW’s Suppression Zone.
Following the National Management Group decision, DAF has stated no permits will be issued during the “transition period”. Permits must also be sought for entries from Surveillance Emergency Zones in northern Victoria.
External links:
- Australia Has Officially Given Up. Now What?
- Varroa Mite Emergency Response
- Check Hives For Varroa Mite
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