Category: Ministry for Primary Industries

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: MPI moves to rid Papamoa waterway of pest water weed

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is working with the Tauranga City Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council to contain and eradicate an infestation of the aggressive aquatic weed Salvinia molesta (salvinia) in the Wairakei Stream in Papamoa.

Salvinia is known worldwide for its fast spread and significant impacts on lakes and waterways. It forms dense mats on the water surface and has the potential to destroy habitats for our native plants and animals, including native aquatic bird life. It attracts breeding mosquitoes, removes oxygen from the water, affects recreational activities and creates a drowning risk for people and animals.

Salvinia has been eradicated from other sites in New Zealand, and we are confident we can do the same at Papamoa. It is important we talk to local iwi and the community about eradication options as we realise some people may have concerns about this weed infestation, and the process of eradication.

People who believe they have seen salvinia can contact:

• the Bay of Plenty Regional Council on 0800 STOP PESTS (0800 78 67 73)
• MPI’s pest hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Find out more

• About salvinia (www.mpi.govt.nz/salvinia)
• Subscribe to updates – email salvinia@mpi.govt.nz

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: Vehicles seized, prosecutions on the cards after massive black market pāua bust

A Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) operation that was recently concluded with the assistance of police, has resulted in a group of Wellington divers facing charges for gathering excess pāua and offering to sell it on the black market.

The operation targeted a group of people who had been diving in isolated areas around Wellington’s south coast that are mainly accessible only by way of specifically equipped 4×4 vehicles.

MPI team manager (fisheries) for the eastern and lower North Island, Mike Green, says the operation concluded after MPI fishery officers went to an area on the capital’s south coast to inspect the activities of 2 divers.

He says that during the inspection, it was discovered the pair were in possession of more than 600 pāua – 30 times the daily limit for 2 people. As a result, 2 vehicles and dive gear that were used in the alleged offending were seized.

“Following this, 4 fisheries search warrants were conducted at the addresses of the 2 divers as well as another 2 people identified earlier in our inquiry.

“As a result, another 4×4 vehicle and more dive gear were seized.”

Four men will now likely face charges under the Fisheries Act – charges that attract a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine and/or 5 years imprisonment.

Mike Green says further search warrants were carried out this week at properties identified as the homes of people who were allegedly purchasing the seafood from the divers.

“These people will also likely face serious fisheries charges. Abusing our fisheries and taking in excess of the daily limit for any fish or shellfish is bad enough. This sort of offending has a huge impact on the sustainability of the fishery and creates a localised depletion that impacts everyone.

“Providing and sustaining a black market for those who are taking illegally is equally as bad. We will come down hard on everyone involved and we will seize, when applicable, all the gear, equipment, and vehicles used in the commission of an offence.”

Pictures

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: Vineyard workers pay the price for labelling banned pork sausages as squid

Two Thai vineyard workers have both been fined $1,900 and ordered to pay court costs of $130 each after bringing in high-risk pork sausages to New Zealand from Asia.

Twenty-four-year-old Benjamat Pingwong and Orawan Leekongbab, 42, pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Biosecurity Act when they appeared in the Blenheim District Court earlier this month.

The pair’s offending came to light after they arrived in New Zealand on separate flights directly from Singapore one day apart from each other in October last year.

The court heard that when biosecurity staff checked both women’s luggage, they discovered a sealed package labelled ‘dried squid’ but which actually contained pork sausages as well as dried squid.

The women denied knowledge of the hidden sausages and both blamed their mothers for putting the product into the same packet as the dried squid.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Compliance Investigations Manager, Gary Orr, says this sort of offending is very serious.

“You can’t underestimate the risk posed by bringing prohibited food stuffs into New Zealand,” says Mr Orr.

“We’re a nation that relies heavily, in an economic sense, on our primary industries, so the introduction of any invasive pests and diseases through the importation of risk goods makes us particularly vulnerable.

“Pork is prohibited from entry into New Zealand and is considered especially risky due to the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease in Thailand.

“Biosecurity breaches have huge impacts on the country as a whole and have the potential to have a serious impact on our international reputation as well.”

The pork was disposed of.

Pictures

The pork sausages were concealed in bags containing dried squid

Photos available on request by emailing media@mpi.govt.nz

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: Commercial Mycoplasma bovis test being developed

A commercial diagnostic tool, which will allow farmers to test for cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis themselves, is being developed by a partnership comprising commercial laboratories, industry representatives and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

The tool will be released once sampling guidelines, a testing strategy, and possibly an accreditation programme have been developed – to ensure the test can be accurately applied and interpreted.

MPI response director Geoff Gwyn said since the discovery of Mycoplasma bovis in New Zealand last year, the partnership had been working hard to provide practitioners and farmers with better diagnostic tests to assist in detecting the cattle disease on their farms.

“However, while testing options and solutions are becoming available, we have identified that interpreting a one-off test result, even at the herd level, in isolation to other factors, is challenging and carries an inherent risk for farmers when in isolation to other factors. The tests currently available will lead to a significant number of farms being falsely identified as positive and farms that may be real positives being missed.

“That’s why we are developing robust processes, including a testing strategy and sampling guidelines, which may form part of an accreditation programme.”

The partnership behind the test programme includes representatives from NZ Veterinary Association (NZVA), Beef and Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, Dairy Companies Association of NZ, Federated Farmers, AsureQuality, MilkTest NZ, Livestock Improvement Corporation, New Zealand Veterinary Pathology, SVS Laboratories, and Gribbles Veterinary Pathology.

The NZVA chief veterinary officer, Helen Beattie said the partnership was focused on helping farmers who were dealing with the many uncertainties around the disease.

“All parties in this partnership are acutely aware of the need for a robust on-farm solution for farmers who are concerned about Mycoplasma bovis. All parties are working urgently on developing this tool, and all the elements needed to support it.”

Any accreditation programme will likely not only consider test result, but also factors such as herd management, animal health, and record keeping (including NAIT records) – all of which will be used to inform farmers of the likely risk of Mycoplasma bovis in their herd.

MPI is continuing to test milk from every dairy farm in New Zealand – a comprehensive programme that is nearly complete, and is occurring alongside MPI’s extensive surveillance work tracing every possible movement of animals from infected farms.

“We acknowledge that some farmers may be disappointed they don’t have access to a commercial diagnostic tool now to give them some certainty about whether their animals, or animals they may be purchasing, carry the infection. However, it’s critically important that we don’t rush this – we have to get it right,” said Mr Gwyn.

Find out more about Mycoplasma bovis

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: New biofouling guides aim to stop dirty vessels entering New Zealand

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has released guidance on how international vessels can comply with strict new biofouling rules.

Next month, New Zealand will become the first country in the world to introduce a nationwide standard for biofouling. From 15 May, all commercial and recreational vessel operators will have to show they have managed biofouling on their vessels before they enter New Zealand waters.

“Biofouling presents a major biosecurity risk to New Zealand. The new standard aims to reduce this risk and protect our unique marine environment and our aquaculture industries by ensuring vessels arrive with a clean hull,” says MPI’s biosecurity and environment group manager, Paul Hallett. 

 “Over the past 4 years, MPI has been working incredibly hard to ensure everyone is aware and ready to comply when the standard goes live in May.”

A new guidance document to accompany the standard has just been released to help vessel operators understand the new rules and how they can comply. 

MPI has also released a guidance document for developing customised Craft Risk Management Plans.  

 “We understand that not all vessels will be able to meet the compliance measures outlined in the standard. Craft Risk Management Plans allow these vessels to develop a more tailored compliance plan to manage the biofouling,” says Mr Hallett.

“We expect vessels with unique operating profiles, such as cruise ships and fishing vessels, will most likely use this option.”

MPI will assess the biofouling risk of the vessel prior to its arrival based on documents supplied by the operator. 

“We’ll be looking for evidence of continual maintenance, cleaning, or treatment to verify the vessel complies with the new rules.

“Vessels that are unable to comply with the new regulations may have their schedules interrupted or restricted, or even face the possibility of being directed to leave New Zealand territory.

“These measures will all be at the expense of the vessel owner or operator.” 

“While we are confident industry is ready for the new rules, we strongly advise vessel operators to get in touch with MPI if they are still unsure how to comply.”

Find out more 

• Biofouling
• The biofouling guidance document
• The Craft Risk Management Plan guidance document
• Email standards@mpi.govt.nz

 

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: MPI providing $830,000 for Gisborne erosion control

The Ministry for Primary Industries’ Erosion Control Funding Programme (ECFP) is providing $830,000 to the Gisborne District Council to undertake high definition digital 3-D aerial mapping of its region to enable better-informed erosion control and business decisions.

LiDAR is a remote sensing tool which uses laser pulses to generate large amounts of highly-accurate geographical terrain data.

“With LiDAR’s accuracy we’ll be able to use better data to accurately assess erosion risks, increase the effectiveness of erosion control treatments, and evaluate the success of past land treatments,” says Ben Dalton, deputy director general, sector partnerships and programmes.

“The East Coast is the most erosion-prone region in New Zealand. The area has great potential for further primary sector economic growth but in many cases erosion significantly affects pasture and other productive land. Leaving eroded land untreated has a negative economic impact on hill country farms, infrastructure, rivers, water quality, people, and communities.

“As a communit,y we need to address erosion in the region now to ensure land remains sustainable for future generations. Addressing erosion control is a key component of succession planning,” says Mr Dalton. “There will be long-term social, environmental, and economic benefits for the community through the direct and indirect improved decision-making,” he said.

The LiDAR data will be free for public and commercial businesses to use in a wide range of areas, including infrastructure design and investment, urban planning, and across the primary sector in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture.

Gisborne District Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann says LiDAR is a key element in unlocking Māori land productivity and will be invaluable to the forestry industry which often flies localised LiDAR to help with harvest planting. “The data will also assist in road design and planning and enable us to better map and manage natural hazards, such as flood-prone, tsunami, and storm surge areas. It will enable accurate mapping of active faults, landslides and earthflows, and other areas of instability,” she said.  

The funding for the LiDAR initiative comes from the Erosion Control Funding Programme (ECFP) which supports the Government’s One Billion Trees initiative. With this funding, community groups can lead projects that not only improve erosion but generate wider environmental, economic, and social benefits for the region. Examples of community initiatives could include increasing local seedling supplies, skills and labour, optimising land use for erodible land, new or alternative erosion treatments, riparian planting, or post-harvest options.

The Gisborne District Council and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) will also contribute funding to the initiative. LINZ plays a key role in increasing LiDAR coverage across New Zealand, working with councils to collect the data and making it widely available.

The Erosion Control Funding Programme is open for community project applications all year.

• Find out more about the programme

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: MPI committed to efficient Mycoplasma bovis compensation payouts

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is committed to helping farmers affected by the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis receive their due compensation and is working hard to process all current claims.

MPI’s director of response, Geoff Gwyn says MPI has not yet received compensation claims relating to its decision to direct the cull of some 22,000 cattle on infected properties, which MPI announced last month.

“However, we are aware some farmers are nervous about compensation timeframes and I would like to provide reassurance that we are running as fast and efficient a process as possible.

“We have, of course, been dealing with compensation claims throughout this response, and I think both MPI and the industry have learnt a lot that will make the process more efficient.”

Mr Gwyn said that MPI would consider making part-payments to farmers of infected properties who are being required to cull their entire herd. 

“We are pulling out all stops to process existing claims and are nearly halfway through these by value of the claims. We are significantly increasing staffing in our compensation team to do this, and to ensure we can work at pace when the claims for the 22,000 culled animals start coming through.”

“We understand that while there was some relief at the direction to depopulate infected properties, some farmers will inevitably worry about how long the compensation process could take. And yes, it can be a complex and time-consuming process because we are talking about public money.

“However, we’d like to reassure farmers that we are doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible while taking every step necessary to fairly administrate the compensation scheme.”

As part of this, industry partners have already funded staff to help affected farmers complete their claim forms.

Mr Gwyn says providing trained, independent advisers who can support farmers to complete their applications is an important part of expediting the process.

“That’s why we’re also asking industry to augment their resources so they can guide farmers through the compensation process and ensure they provide all the information we require.

MPI is directly contacting professional rural and farming advisers to offer them specific training so they can better support farmers to complete their compensation claims. It also has a comprehensive support network, which includes specialised recovery planners, to help farmers get their businesses back up and running as soon as they can.

To date, MPI has received 85 Mycoplasma bovis-related claims since the beginning of the response.

The currently-assessed value of all existing claims is just under $6 million.  MPI has paid out $2.5 million in compensation to date, with a further $1.5 million expected to be paid within the next fortnight – bringing the total to just over $4 million. The remaining claims will be settled as quickly as possible.

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: Busy summer for frontline biosecurity officers

New Zealand’s border biosecurity defenders have just been through their busiest summer on record, says the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

MPI biosecurity officers screened some 2 million passenger arrivals for risk goods between December 2017 and February 2018, a 5% increase on last summer.

“It was a hectic few months, but we came into the season well prepared for the rush, including employing more than 70 new officers during the year,” says MPI border clearance director Steve Gilbert. 

“Officers handed out nearly 4,000 infringements to passengers with undeclared goods that could harbour disease pests or diseases. Most of these were for undeclared fresh produce, which can carry destructive fruit fly species.”

“We made 10 fruit fly interceptions during the summer. This proves the worth of our biosecurity defences, given the damage these insects can do to New Zealand horticulture.”

He says MPI officers also made record seizures of brown marmorated stink bugs with more than 180 interceptions and more than 2,000 individual bugs detected.

MPI has increased its scrutiny of cargo arriving from countries where the pest is established, with the number of consignments targeted for inspection increasing more than 100%. 

“There has been a huge spike in stink bug detections on imported vehicles and machinery from Japan that has so far resulted in 4 carriers being turned away from New Zealand this season,” says Mr Gilbert.

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: New approach to manage myrtle rust

The Ministry for Primary Industries and the Department of Conservation say the fight against the plant disease myrtle rust is changing gear, given the prevalence of the disease across susceptible parts of New Zealand.

Myrtle rust has now been confirmed in the Tasman region at the top of the South Island, which means the disease has been found across almost all regions identified as most vulnerable based on habitat suitability and wind patterns.

“When myrtle rust was first discovered on mainland New Zealand in May last year, we said it would be a challenging disease to contain and eradicate but we would give it a good crack,” says the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Myrtle Rust Response Spokesperson Dr Catherine Duthie.

“There has been an enormous operational effort over the last 11 months, but the windborne nature of the disease means that containment has not proved possible. We have signalled for a while the likely need to change gear from intensive surveillance and the removal and destruction of host plants, to one where we look to manage the disease over the long term.”

The fungus has been found in Tasman region on ramarama (Lophomyrtus) on a residential property in Collingwood in Golden Bay, and a commercial property at Pohara. In addition, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has confirmed infections on 5 properties at Omori on the south-western edge of Lake Taupo, which is also a new region for infection.

“We now have well over 540 infected sites across the North Island and now the top of the South,” says Dr Duthie. “Because of the windborne, pernicious nature of the disease, we have to anticipate that there are likely to be many more infected sites beyond these.”

Dr Duthie says the focus of efforts now had to be placed on a science programme designed to lift our understanding around the disease such as ways to treat myrtle rust, resistance and susceptibility, and to improve seed banking collection.

“A second key focus has to be on working with communities across New Zealand to support regional efforts to combat myrtle rust. As we transition to long term management, MPI and the Department of Conservation (DOC) will be engaging with iwi and hapu, territorial authorities, the plant and nursery industries, and communities to support the development of regional programmes. This could include regional surveillance programmes, identification and protection strategies for taonga plants and special locations, advice to landowners, seed banking, and broad community engagement.”

As part of involving and informing communities at the grassroots, MPI and DOC will hold hui with iwi and councils in affected regions over the coming months.

“We think this regional and community effort is really important. One of the most critical things is for people to continue to report suspected infections. We need to keep tracking the spread of the disease so we can better understand how it might behave in New Zealand and what its long-term impacts might be. This will help us to understand resistance of native species and will be vital to our myrtle rust science programme.”

More than 540 properties are known to have been infected by the fungal disease since it was first detected on mainland New Zealand in mid-May 2017. Since then, more than 5000 myrtle plants have been securely removed and destroyed, and more than 95,000 myrtle plants inspected.

Members of the public are encouraged to continue to report any possible cases to the Biosecurity Hotline – 0800 80 99 66.

DOC will continue to focus on seed collection to secure the long-term future of native myrtle plants and monitoring biodiversity impacts to inform science and management actions. It will also continue efforts to protect sites of high ecological and cultural significance.

Editor’s notes

Distribution of detections

At 6 April, myrtle rust has been detected on 547 properties across 9 regions: Northland (4 properties), Auckland (82), Waikato (61), Bay of Plenty (123), Taupo (5), Taranaki (233), Manawatu (3), Wellington (34), Tasman (2).

Science programme

MPI has commissioned a $3.4 million research programme made up of more than 20 specific projects to be undertaken over the 2 years to June 2019.

• Lincoln University has completed an impact assessment under various outbreak scenarios.
• NIWA has completed climate modelling on the potential risk of myrtle rust spread from Australia and Raoul Island.
• MPI’s Plant Health and Environment Laboratory and the Food and Environment Agency (UK) have developed a rapid field monitoring tool that has been used in the myrtle rust response on mainland New Zealand.
• New Zealand Plant Producers Inc is scoping and developing a plant production biosecurity scheme for nurseries and garden centres.
• Scion Research is working on several projects to:
• build engagement and social licence through better understanding of potential options around the long-term management of myrtle rust
• undertake a desktop review of potential disease control tools
• map myrtle species
• develop and test possible surveillance and management tools
• scope a breeding programme for resistant myrtle species
• develop monitoring approaches to assess environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts over time, and to understand the impact of potential management actions.
• There are several projects yet to begin on:
• regular climate modelling to help inform decisions around geographical risks and the deployment of field surveillance teams
• assessment of spore transmission risk via bees and beehives
• identification of resistant and susceptible myrtle species and environmental factors that affect susceptibility
• identification of periods when fungus symptoms are not visible
• development of a seed banking and germplasm research strategy
• assessment of the potential risks that other types of myrtle rust could present to New Zealand
• investigating the best possible methods to store and preserve myrtle seeds (some myrtle species produce very low amounts of seed that can’t be grown after being  stored).

Response data

Since myrtle rust was first detected on mainland New Zealand, we have:

• inspected more than 95,276 myrtle plants across the high risk areas of the North Island and upper South Island
• co-ordinated field activities of 7 surveillance teams and 4 plant removal teams
• dedicated more than 104,000 hours to responding to the myrtle rust threat
• found myrtle rust on an average of 45 properties each month (ranging from 2 in October 2017, to 184 in March 2018)
• removed and securely destroyed more than 5,000 infected myrtle plants
• undertaken approximately 330 laboratory tests of myrtle plant samples
• received more than 3,300 calls from members of the public regarding suspected myrtle rust infections
• with the Māori Biosecurity Network, held hui around the North Island to share knowledge of myrtle rust and the response provided surveillance training to more than 100 people on marae so they could monitor taonga myrtle plants
• worked in partnership with iwi kaitiaki, councils, and community volunteers to establish a community-driven surveillance programme on Mauao (Mt Maunganui) historic reserve.

Pictures

MPI has photos related to the myrtle rust response and susceptible plants. They can be requested by emailing media@mpi.govt.nz

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries – Headline: MPI takes successful prosecutions over illegal collection of pāua from closed Kaikōura fishery

A Nelson painter has paid the price for taking pāua from an area in Kaikōura where the collection of shellfish was banned after the 2016 earthquake.

Neville Allistar Moka, 39, pleaded guilty to a charge of fishing in an area closed under emergency measures, when he appeared in the Nelson District Court last week.

He was fined $1,500 and ordered to pay court costs of $130.

Ministry for Primary Industries spokesman, Howard Reid, says Mr Moka’s offending took place between June and July last year while he was working on the Kaikōura coast.

He says Mr Moka admitted gathering shellfish on one occasion from the sea opposite to where he was staying.

“He took pāua from within the closed area and claimed he didn’t know a ban applied to where he was gathering from,” says Mr Reid.

“That’s despite there being a prominent sign almost directly across the road from his accommodation.

“The sign clearly stated that the fishery was closed – the sentencing judge found it difficult to accept Mr Moka’s explanation.”

Another Nelson painter who was sharing accommodation with Mr Moka, 49-year-old Benjamin Beale, received the same fine and was also ordered to pay $130 court costs after pleading guilty to the same charge when he appeared in the Nelson District Court at an earlier date.

Mr Beale claimed he took the pāua at night and didn’t see the sign which the sentencing judge dismissed as completely unbelievable.

Mr Reid says both Mr Moka’s and Mr Beale’s offending is very disappointing.

“The Kaikōura earthquake had a devastating effect on the pāua fishery, with tens of thousands of pāua dying and large areas of productive habitat being lost.

“The fishery still hasn’t recovered from the severe impacts of the quake. In these circumstances, any harvest of pāua has a huge negative impact on sustainability.”

The Kaikōura pāua fishery also has great significance to the local community, iwi, recreational, and commercial fishers who are represented by Te Korowai, an organisation that’s working closely with MPI to promote and encourage sustainable fisheries management.

The chairperson of Te Korowai, Larnce Wichman, says he was disappointed to hear about the breaches of the closure.

“It’s sad to see people taking advantage of our already broken resource. We all have to work together to ensure the future recovery of our fishery – the key to this is collective responsibility.

“We appreciate the work of MPI compliance staff who, through regular patrols and persistence, are holding to account those who decide to threaten the recovery of this species which is a valuable taonga for our community.”

The area from Conway River to Marfells Beach remains closed indefinitely to the taking of pāua, both recreationally and commercially.