Sunday, May 11, 2008 - 04:18 PM

MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) will revoke the current South Island Nelson-Marlborough Controlled Area and the internal line separating Nelson and Marlborough. The new South Island Controlled Area replacing it will cover: the northern part of Westland; Grey, Buller; Tasman; Nelson; Marlborough; and part of north Canterbury. The new controlled area notice comes into effect at 4pm on Tuesday 13th May.

Letters have been sent to all registered South Island beekeepers advising them of the change. The Controlled Area Notice and map was published in the New Zealand Gazette on Thursday 8 May and will be published in the public notice sections of the Nelson Mail, The Press, and the Otago Daily Times on Saturday 10 May 2008. Information will also be available on the MAFBNZ website www.biosecurity.govt.nz. Beekeepers directly affected by the new Controlled Area are being contacted individually.

The new Controlled Area is an interim measure in urgent response to the confirmed finds of varroa at St Arnaud and Blenheim. Varroa has subsequently been reported at Murchison and Picton, these finds are awaiting laboratory confirmation.

MAFBNZ assessed several alternative movement control lines. The location of the southern boundary of the controlled area has been selected on the following grounds:
*to cover the possible extent of the undetected further spread of varroa;
*to minimise the number and scale of beekeeping operations that would be split by the boundary, reducing the risk of spread;
*to reduce financial losses to beekeepers resulting from movement controls, and get best value from programme funding through minimising Biosecurity Act compensation;
*to allow surveillance to support the new boundary, working around accredited organic operations that don’t use synthetic pyrethroid miticides;
*consideration of geography, roads and industry practice.

Stakeholders will be consulted during May and June about the future of the South Island Controlled Area.

Until the new South Island Controlled Area is in force at 4pm Tuesday 13th May, beekeepers are still required to adhere to movement control conditions currently in place as part of the Nelson-Marlborough Controlled Area.

Beekeepers in and close to the Nelson-Marlborough Controlled Area are urged to regularly test their own hives for varroa mites on bees or in brood. Beekeepers detecting varroa in their hives should report the find to MAFBNZ via the 0800 80 99 66 free phone number.

MAFBNZ will continue to provide regular updates through the MAFBNZ website www.biosecurity.govt.nz, industry groups and media releases on the status varroa in the South Island and associated controls.