Industry Update No 1 Quarantine Area declared

Several male Qfly have been detected in Bayswater as part of an ongoing surveillance program run by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). Qfly is a destructive fruit pest found in some other parts of Australia, but not established in Western Australia. It attacks a wide range of fruit and fruiting vegetables including citrus, banana, grapes, stone fruit, olive, avocado, mango, passionfruit, tomato, capsicum and chilli.

Under the Australia’s National Fruit Fly Management Protocol, the detection of five or more male Qfly, a single gravid female or a Qfly larvae triggers an incident response and DPIRD declared a level 2 response on 1 March 2023. Eradication activities for the new detection have already commenced with DPIRD staff out in the field undertaking baiting and surveillance activities.

There have been no new detections in commercial growing areas, but some commercial areas will be impacted if they are located within the Quarantine Area. Ongoing surveillance of Qfly in commercial and regional growing areas continues as priority work for DPIRD. Quarantine Area As part of the response, a Quarantine Area (QA) – 15km radius from the detection point was formally gazetted on 17 March 2023.

Please refer to agric.wa.gov.au/qflyupdates for more information