Bay clear of Queensland fly

A total of 111 lure traps are set up in the wider Tauranga area every year in case of a Queensland fruit fly invasion. Photo / Supplied

THE Ministry for Primary Industries will not increase the number of lure traps in the Bay of Plenty, despite the fourth Queensland fruit fly being found in Auckland.

One hundred and eleven traps were set up and maintained in the wider Tauranga area (of 355 in the Bay of Plenty) every year and to date the fruit fly had not been detected in the region.

MPI senior communications adviser Lesley Patston said there would not be an increase in traps in the Bay of Plenty.

"There is a current surveillance grid in Bay of Plenty for the detection of Queensland fruit fly. There are currently no detections of Queensland fruit fly in the Bay of Plenty, so MPI does not see a need to increase the surveillance trapping in this area and our efforts are focused on the situation in the Auckland region."

The fourth fruit fly was found in the controlled area around Grey Lynn, Auckland on Sunday.

Ms Patston said the surveillance and lure traps were effective.

"If there were fruit flies there, our traps are designed to find them."

Nationally, about 7500 traps were set up and maintained between September and June each year at a cost of about $1.8 million, the MPI website stated.

The trapping programme had detected six invasions of fruit flies in the country since 1989, none of which had been in the Bay of Plenty region.

Traps were placed in grids, concentrating in populated areas serving as centres for tourism and trade, areas of significant horticultural activity and areas specified as being climatically conducive to the establishment of fruit flies, the website stated.

"The fruit fly surveillance programme relies on property owners' in-kind contributions to the programme. Property owners host the traps, allowing access to MPI-approved personnel to service and check the traps at two-weekly intervals, and also assist by reporting back to MPI if they suspect anything that may be compromising the integrity of the traps that are located in their property."