biosecurity and maori resilience -...
TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 2009
Keen carp get to work
Beyond used vehicle inspections
Biodiversity improves ecosystem resilienceBiosecurity and Maori
Biosecurity magazine
Biosecurity is published six-weekly by MAF
Biosecurity New Zealand. It is of special
interest to all those with a stake in the
protection of New Zealand’s economic,
environmental and social assets from the
dangers posed by pests and diseases.
Animal welfare issues are also covered. The
articles in this magazine do not necessarily
reflect government policy.
For enquiries about specific articles, refer
to the contact listed at the end of each
article.
General enquiries (e.g. circulation requests
or information about
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand):
Biosecurity Magazine
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand
PO Box 2526
Pastoral House, 25 The Terrace,
Wellington, New Zealand
Phone: 04 894 0100
Fax: 04 894 0300
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.biosecurity.govt.nz
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ISSN 1174 – 4618
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90
C O N T E N T S
Editorial 3
Looking backwards into the future 4
Keen carp get to work 6
Sleeping monster of the deep 7
Coming the full circle 8
Understanding the risks to native plants 9
MFish Senior Analyst seconded to MAFBNZ 10
Maori fellowships bolster science 10
Biodiversity improves ecosystem resilience 11
Importing cats, dogs and canine semen 12
Eradicating white bryony infestations 13
Epidemiologist joins MAFBNZ 13
MAFBNZ inspectors go beyond inspecting used vehicles out of Japan 14
Preparing for emergencies 16
Updates 17
Directory 18
4 66666666 1411111111111111144444444444444444
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 3
90Er
ica
Greg
ory
E D I T O R I A L
Increasing Maori participation in the biosecurity systemMAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) has been
working hard over the past couple of years to engage
more positively with Maori on biosecurity issues, and
to increase Maori participation in the biosecurity
system. Underpinning this work is the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry’s (MAF’s) recognition of the
integral part Maori have to play in the sustainable
development of New Zealand’s primary sector and the
protection of our biosecurity status.
Māori have a significant economic interest in land and
forestry assets. The Māori contribution to the primary sector
includes:
• ownership of approximately 1.5 million hectares of land
valued at approximately $7.5 billion;
• farming of approximately 10–15 percent of New Zealand
sheep and cattle on Māori land;
• shareholding in Fonterra valued at approximately
$1 billion, with Māori dairy enterprises producing in
excess of 800,000 kg/milk solids seasonally; and
• turnover of Māori trusts and incorporations being as
large as the top half of companies listed on the New
Zealand stock exchange.
Māori have strong cultural links with land and water
environments. The protection of natural and biological
resources such as indigenous flora and fauna within these
environments is of utmost importance to Māori. These
resources are widely regarded by Māori to be taonga
(culturally important treasures). Because of this connection
there is a direct link between Māori and New Zealand’s
biosecurity system.
The Treaty of Waitangi and the partnership established
through this agreement is integral to the relationship
between Māori and the Crown. As a Crown agency, MAF
seeks to uphold the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Increased Māori and Treaty capability within MAF provides
a basis for greater collaboration between MAF and Māori.
Two concepts – capability and collaboration – provide the
focus for MAF’s strategy for responsiveness to Māori.
Capability focuses on building MAF’s internal capability to
develop effective and enduring relationships with Māori, and
enhancing the capability of staff to understand Māori issues
and concerns, and how they can be incorporated into MAF’s
planning and policy processes.
Collaboration focuses on MAF entering into effective and
enduring working relationships with Māori and other
government organisations working with Māori on
sustainable development. Key elements for building success
around the strategic goal involve MAF building trust and
confidence with Māori, providing for greater Māori
participation and building a greater understanding of the
context within which MAF makes decisions.
Over the next five years, MAF’s Māori Responsiveness
Strategy aims to:
• improve Māori participation and input into MAF
planning, policy development, research, standards setting
and operational activities;
• increase knowledge of Māori and Treaty issues across
MAF;
• improve the protection of Māori biologically based
economic and cultural resources from pests and diseases;
• increase opportunities for MAF to work with Māori
to optimise the economic potential of their land and
forestry assets; and
• improve MAF responsiveness to Māori by developing
productive working relationships with Māori.
MAF will know it is achieving excellence when it is:
• recognised as a key partner assisting Māori to achieve
their aspirations;
• engaged more in capacity building with Māori to support
the achievement of excellence in the primary sector;
Continued on next page ❯
4 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
90 BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
• developing research partnerships with Māori that aim to
support Māori capacity and capability in mātauranga
Māori me ona tikanga (the knowledge systems and
cultural practices that allow Māori to live, engage and
interact with their environment and world) in order to
provide knowledge and insights relevant to the
agricultural, food, forestry and biosecurity sectors;
• have working relationships with Māori and government
agencies that achieve excellence in the prevention from
harm and the protection of biological resources of
importance to Māori and New Zealanders;
• engaged in collaborative action with agencies to achieve
effective engagement with Māori and efficient use of
resources.
In this edition of Biosecurity we report some of the challenges
presented to MAFBNZ by Mere Roberts when she spoke at the
Biosecurity Summit prior to Christmas, take a look at a
response to hydrilla, a pest plant growing in Lake Tūtira, and
read about a research project into Māori values around
plants that is nearing completion.
As an organisation, MAF still has a way to go towards
delivering on the strategic goal it has set for itself. However,
in the process of doing so we will learn more from Māori
about ourselves and the environment that we are here to
protect.
The following whakatauki provides an apt conclusion.
Ki a koe tētehi kīwai, ki a au tētehi kīwai.
For you one handle of the basket and for me the other –
meaning that the work or the burden is to be shared equally.
Hei kona. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou
katoa.
Erica Gregory, Senior Adviser (Biosecurity), MAF Maori Strategy Unit ■
E D I T O R I A L C O N T I N U E D
Looking backwards into the futureHokia nga whakaaro ki onamata, hei whakau onaianei kia anamata
Look to the past, so we can understand the present and plan for the future
Dr Mere Roberts, speaking at
the Biosecurity Summit,
warned of the need for the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
(MAF) to take a broader view of what
might constitute a Māori perspective
on biosecurity.
Dr Roberts said it was important to
recognise that different peoples had
different relationships with different
species. For example, certain introduced
species, such as the kiore rat, were
regarded by some as taonga, while others
relied on introduced pest species such as
pigs, deer and possums for their
livelihood. There was thus no single
Māori perspective on biosecurity.
She said there was also a need to
recognise that “biosecurity” was a new
concept created in order to define and
categorise a subject area that did not exist
in traditional Māori society. Hence, any
explanation of traditional Māori views
on the subject would require redefining
of that knowledge in order to “fit”
modern definitions. This ran contrary to
the nature of Māori understandings and
relationships with their environment.
Dr Roberts drew on traditions about the
arrival of the human ancestors of Māori,
along with the plant and animal species
they brought with them in waka
(canoes).
These included kūmara, yam, taro, hue
(bottle gourd), a species of cabbage tree
(tī pore) and the aute (paper mulberry
tree), along with two introduced
mammals, the kiore rat and the kurī
(dog).
She said other species were almost
certainly introduced but failed to survive
(for example, breadfruit, banana,
pandanus and coconut) or were
accidental imports (such as various soil
invertebrates and/or micro-organisms).
Apart from the kiore, no invasive species
were introduced to New Zealand by
humans until Cook’s arrival with dogs,
chooks, pigs, cats and rats in 1769.
Species said to have been brought to New
Zealand by individual waka (and their
captains) were:
• Aotea (Turi) – kūmara (nine varieties)
and caterpillars, possibly taro, hue,
aute, tī tawhiti and tī manu (cabbage
trees), kiore and kurī, pāra (eel-like
fish), perei, possibly karaka seeds,
koromiko, pūkeko, kākāriki (gecko),
lizards, atua and sacred adzes.
• Horouta (Pawa) – kūmara, aruhe
(edible fern root), kowhai seed/
sapling, kiore, pukeko and two
pohutukawa.
• Tainui (Hoturoa) – kūmara
(10 varieties), hue, aute, ara, pūhue
(convulvulus), māwhai (plant
parasite), para, soil, kura.
• Te Wakatuwhenua – (possibly)
leprosy.
• Mangarara (Wheketoro) – tuatara,
kumukumu (lizard), teretere (gecko),
mokoparae (lizards), mokokakariki
(geckos), weri (centipedes), whē
(caterpillar), wētā, kēkerengū (black
beetle), praying mantis and stick
insect, tōrea (pied oyster catcher),
whioi (ground lark) and mohorangi
(kurī).
Dr Mere Roberts
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 5
90BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
Dr Roberts suggested that although
change was necessary in order to survive
in a different climate, there was little if
any need for “bioprotection” in this new
environment, which provided an
abundant and seemingly endless supply
of resources.
She also raised the question of whether
the kiore was a pest or a “pet”, and
suggested that the answer depended on a
person’s world view and relationship with
that animal.
She drew a parallel between the kiore and
the Kaimanawa horses. Both were closely
associated with humans in their ancestral
homelands, both were widespread in the
rest of the world, but in New Zealand both
endangered native species and their
habitats. Neither was native to New
Zealand and neither species was a
significantly different strain or breed from
non-New Zealand populations, and hence
deserved no special “rare” or endangered
species status.
However, significant differences were
that horses belonged to the “charismatic
megafauna” and their “victims” were
non-charismatic, little-known plant
species. In contrast, kiore were “non-
charismatic microfauna” that while
traditionally valued as food, following
colonisation, were now described as
“vermin” whose “victims” included
“charismatic” species such as birds.
The key biosecurity issues for Māori
were both political and cultural,
Dr Roberts said. The way forward
included a Māori responsiveness strategy
involving Māori with the following
guiding principles and ethical
framework:
• Treaty of Waitangi partnership
based on Treaty principles and
Māori values, for example, with
regional councils, the Department of
Conservation and Crown Research
Institutes.
• Meaningful participation including:
– meaningful consultation;
– capacity building of kaitiaki
knowledge and skills;
– resourcing;
– protection of taonga species,
habitats, ecosystems and waahi
tapu;
– incorporation of mātauranga
and tikanga (tangible and
intangible/spiritual) into policy
and planning documents,
and protection of intellectual
property.
Dr Roberts said the way forward for all
of the “bios” including biosecurity,
bioprotection, biodiversity,
bioprospecting and biotechnology
included:
• a focus on the future – on assisting
Māori to develop new and
appropriate mātauranga and tikanga
associated with these areas;
• incorporation of Māori values and
principles (traditional and Treaty
based);
• empowerment of mana whenua
as the custodians and kaitiaki of
knowledge concerning their own
rohe and taonga, and responsible for
their protection;
• seeking integration of knowledge
and strategies across sectors to reflect
the holistic nature of kaitiakitanga,
mātauranga and tikanga pertaining
to each of the “bios”.
• Dr Roberts is of Māori (Ngāti
Apakura, Ngāti Hikairo) and
Pākehā descent. From 1972 until
2004 she was a staff member of the
University of Auckland’s Schools
of Medicine Biological Sciences
and Environmental Sciences
before being appointed Head of
Science at Te Whare Wānanga o
Awanuiārangi, one of three Māori
tertiary educational institutions. She
is currently an Honorary Research
Fellow at the University of Auckland.
Dr Roberts has represented Māori
interests on a number of government
advisory committees including the
Foundation for Research, Science
and Technology (FRST); the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
New Zealand science subcommittee;
Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao (the
Māori Advisory Committee to the
Environmental Risk Management
Authority or ERMA); Ministry for
Economic Development working
group on bioprospecting; and
the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry’s Ministerial Advisory
Committee on Biosecurity. She is
also a Director of Environmental
and Scientific Research (ESR). Her
research interests are in indigenous
knowledge systems and ecological
knowledge, with a focus on
mātauranga pūtaiao (Māori scientific
knowledge).
Above, from left: New Zealand kiore (rat), waka (canoe) and kumara root.
Ti pore (cordyline fruticosa or cabbage tree).
6 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
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Thousands of eager allies
have joined the battle
against an unwelcome
aquatic weed.
MAF Biosecurity New
Zealand (MAFBNZ)
successfully released 3000
grass carp into Lakes Tūtira, Waikopiro
and Opouahi on 11 December 2008 as
part of the response to eradicate the
highly invasive freshwater aquatic
weed hydrilla. Grass carp (also known
as white amur) graze on aquatic plants
and were used to eliminate hydrilla in
Lake Eland, also in Hawkes Bay.
“They are the most suitable method of
biological control for hydrilla
eradication,” MAFBNZ Senior Adviser,
Pest Management, Victoria Lamb says.
“Scientists estimate that the hydrilla
weed beds should begin to reduce in
size about eighteen months after grass
carp are introduced into the lakes. The
weed beds should disappear completely
within three to four years following the
release of the carp.”
Ms Lamb says grass carp were bred
especially for the purpose. “They
cannot breed naturally in New Zealand
waterways, so they can be removed or
will naturally die-out once they have
done their job.”
Approval to release the carp into the
lakes was granted by the Department
of Conservation and Fish and Game
New Zealand Hawkes Bay, supported
by the Hawkes Bay Regional Council
and local iwi.
“Hydrilla weed beds at high risk sites
in the lakes – such as around boat
ramps and entry points – were treated
with the ERMA-approved aquatic
herbicide endothall before the grass
carp were released,” Ms Lamb says.
“A survey by National Institute of
Water and Atmospheric Research
(NIWA) scientists a month later found
the weed beds had collapsed as
expected.”
Barriers to prevent the movement of
grass carp from Lakes Waikopiro and
Tūtira were placed between the lakes
and at the outlet of Lake Tūtira to
ensure the fish remained in their
allotted lakes to maintain the grazing
pressure on the hydrilla.
Hydrilla verticillata
BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
Grass Carp
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 7
90
A sizeable gathering of partners, iwi,
stakeholders, locals and school
children were on hand on 11
December to greet the 3000 fish after
their overnight journey from a fish
farm north of Auckland.
Before the fish were released into the
lakes they had to undergo one final
biosecurity check and acclimatise to
the local water before being placed in a
temporary holding pen ready for
release. At Lake Tūtira, Ngāti
Pahauwera kaumātua Charlie King
delivered a karakia before the carp
were released by Henare Ratima (Ngāti
Kurimokihi) and Neil Daykin (Hawkes
Bay Regional Council).
At Lake Opouahi, some of the fish were
released into the lake, while others were
held in a fenced containment area by
the jetty, the site of the biggest hydrilla
bed.
“The fish inside the fence completed
their work in very quick time and were
released at the end of February, two
months earlier than anticipated,”
Ms Lamb says.
“NIWA staff will return to the lakes in
April 2009 to monitor the effectiveness
of the response. Scientists estimate that
the hydrilla weed beds should reduce in
size by about mid-2010 and disappear
completely within three to four years.”
MAFBNZ has worked closely with
partners and stakeholders throughout
the response.
“MAFBNZ contractor Ian Gear worked
closely with Ngāti Tu kaumātua Bevan
Taylor and Ngāti Pahauwera kaumātua
Charlie King, and with other land-
owners to build a shared understanding
of the possible options and tools for
eradicating hydrilla,” Ms Lamb says.
“Information was shared with iwi and
stakeholders to ensure those with an
interest in the Tūtira lakes were aware
of the risks posed by hydrilla,
management options and the tools
required to successfully eradicate the
weed.
“It was important that the local people
were involved, understood the risks
and options around hydrilla and felt
comfortable with the response options.
“MAFBNZ was in turn made aware of
the issues and concerns relating to the
response that were held by Māori and
other adjoining land owners, and was
able to address them.”
Hydrilla was first detected in Lakes
Tūtira and Waikopiro in 1963 and later
found in Lakes Opouahi and Eland.
Weed beds of hydrilla are a nuisance to
lake users such as bathers, anglers and
boat users. Plant material washed
ashore rots, reducing the aesthetic
value of the lakes, creating an eyesore.
It can also clog hydroelectric dams and
block water intakes in water bodies
where it is present, costing millions of
dollars each year to clean up.
SLEEPING MONSTER OF THE DEEPHydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) is recognised as one of the world’s worst submerged waterweeds. It is native to Asia and northern Australia and is now found on every continent except Antarctica. Hydrilla has been used overseas as an “oxygen weed” in pet fish tanks and ponds.
It out-competes other aquatic plants including natives and its tubers can remain dormant in sediments for up to 10 years waiting for the right conditions to grow.
Hydrilla has slender stems that can grow up to the surface in water as deep as 9 metres from crowns rooted in the substrate. Leaves are 6 to 20 millimetres long and 2 to 4 millimetres wide. The leaves are strap-shaped with pointed tips and saw-tooth edges, and they grow in whorls of four to eight around the stem. Leaf colour can vary from green to translucent, yellowish or brown. Hydrilla produces turions (buds) in the axils of leaves and tubers (like little potatoes). Both turions and tubers winter-over within the sediment. Only male plants are present in New Zealand.
Hydrilla is one of 11 established pests of national interest MAFBNZ aims to eradicate or control in New Zealand. These pests were selected for a national response because of their potential to have a significant impact on our economic, environmental, social and cultural values.
For more information about the hydrilla response, see: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/hydrilla
Propagation, spread and sale of hydrilla is prohibited under the Biosecurity Act 1993. If you suspect the presence of hydrilla you must report it to MAF Biosecurity New Zealand on 0800 80 99 66.
MAFBNZ introduced grass carp into Lakes Tutira, Waikopiro and Opouahi as part of its response to eradicate the highly invasive freshwater aquatic weed hydrilla from the lakes. Photo: Ian Gear – Ian Gear Global.
BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
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COMING THE FULL CIRCLEMAFBNZ’s hydrilla response has given aquatic ecologist Laurel Teirney the opportunity to complete research
she started 35 years ago for the (then) Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
During sampling trips Ms Teirney and her colleague, Steve
Pullen, lived in the Scinde Anglers Club hut by the lake.
“We had no electricity or hot water, no showers – it was pretty
primitive. And there were no computers in those days so
everything had to be written up by hand,” says Ms Teirney.
Manual recording of the data collected at Tūtira proved to be
invaluable when MAFBNZ commissioned Ms Teirney to write
up the research as part of the hydrilla response.
“After we completed the research I was diverted onto other
priority projects and never got to write it up. It was by sheer
coincidence that when I was asked to be on the National
Interest Pests Response Technical Advisory Group for
MAFBNZ, Victoria Lamb [MAFBNZ Senior Adviser, Pest
Management] discovered that I had carried out some research
on Tūtira all those years ago and was keen to get some baseline
data for the hydrilla response.
“I was delighted to be asked to write the research up. It was
always in the back of my mind as it was the only piece of
research I had never written up.”
Ms Teirney then set about finding the “big red book” where
she had so meticulously recorded the Tūtira data all those
years ago.
“I knew it was in one of the boxes in the garage roof that had
survived several shifts of house. Luckily I found it without
looking in too many boxes.
“It feels so right to be completing something I started at the
beginning of my career – it is like coming full circle.”
“It was my first job out of university and I was asked to
undertake a project to improve the water quality of
Lake Tūtira,” she says.
“MAF had been approached by the Hawkes Bay Acclimatisation
Board, which was concerned that the trout population was being
affected by the poor water quality of the lake.
“Heavy fertilizer use in the Tūtira catchment had led to
increased nutrients, algal blooms and a decline of water quality
in the lake.
“When the algae died it decomposed as it sank to the bottom,
using up oxygen in the deeper water until none was left.
Oxygen in the deeper water cannot be replenished in summer
because the temperature of the lake water forms three layers –
the surface layer can warm up to 25 degrees celsius; the
thermocline where the temperature drops within a few metres
to 10 degrees; and the deeper water trapped beneath the
thermocline that remains at 10 degrees. Surface temperatures
are too high for trout and deoxygenated water from the
thermocline down is lethal. This was far from an optimal
environment for trout,” says Ms Teirney.
“It was thought that mixing the layers [destratifying the water
column] by blowing air through large pipes in the lake could
improve the water quality.”
Detailed sampling of the lake was carried out every one to two
months for two years prior to the installation of the pipes to
establish baseline data for the project. Monitoring and sampling
continued for two years after the pipes were installed and
operating.
BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
Collecting data at Lake Tutira in 1974 (L-R) Ann Chapman, Waikato University; Tom Northcote, University of British Columbia; Allan Kilner, MAF; Laurel Teirney, MAF; Lloyd Gledhill, MAF.
Laurel Teirney (National Interest Pests Response Technical Advisory Group) and Steve Pullen (Ministry of Fisheries) at Lake Tutira 35 years after they worked together on a project to improve the water quality of the lake. Photo: Ian Gear – Ian Gear Global.
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 9
90
Understanding the risks to native plants from a Maori perspective MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) and Maori are working to better
understand how to assess and manage risks to native plants.
Assessing the potential impacts
of introduced species on native
plants can be difficult, since
more than 80 percent of New Zealand’s
native plants grow only in New Zealand.
MAFBNZ has identified a need to better
understand how potential pests on
native plants could affect Māori cultural
values, so that these values can be
properly incorporated into biosecurity
decision-making processes.
Working with four iwi around New
Zealand, and with Boffa Miskell and
Landcare Research, MAFBNZ is close
to completing work that will enhance
understanding of how different iwi
value and may be affected by threats to
native plants.
Workshops were held around the
country with iwi and hapū to discuss
the value they placed on specific native
plants and possible threats there were to
those plants.
A booklet, put together by Boffa Miskell
and Landcare Research, gave
participants a resource to take away and
refer to in case they were involved in a
response affecting native plants.
The workshops gave MAFBNZ staff an
opportunity to meet members of
various iwi and hapū, and to listen to
their views and perceptions around
native plants. Most MAFBNZ staff only
have an opportunity meet and talk with
Māori when in the middle of a response
to a pest or disease.
Although the final report is not yet
complete, MAFBNZ staff have already
gained a lot from this project.
Both groups highlighted the importance
of MAFBNZ staff and iwi and hapū
being alert to finding ways to keep
communication lines open.
Melanie Newfield, Senior Adviser, ■
Risk Analysis (Indigenous Flora), MAFBNZ, [email protected]
BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
10 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
90
The 10 Te Tipu Pūtaiao
Fellowships are for research to
improve New Zealand’s scientific
knowledge and enhance Māori
involvement in scientific study, and are
worth between $25,000 and $274,000.
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand
Manager Strategic Science Team, Senior
Science Adviser (Marine), Naomi
Parker says: “It is great to see this
initiative, in particular a project that will
be investigating issues around marine
reserves and invasive species, as well as
the effect of marine constructions, such
as wharves and artificial reefs, on
marine life.
“These fellowships are well aligned with
the Biosecurity Science Strategy,
released in 2007, in particular the
objective to support the contribution of
Māori to achieving biosecurity
outcomes and strengthen the links
between Mātauranga Māori me ona
tikanga and biosecurity science.”
The Te Tipu Pūtaiao Fellowship scheme
is open to all New Zealanders, providing
funding support for students
undertaking Masters, PhD and
post-doctorate research, as well as
supporting employment opportunities
for new and emerging scientists through
the Bridge to Employment scheme. Up
to 20 recipients each year receive a
stipend, tuition fees, research related
costs and other expenses to help
develop their scientific and Māori
knowledge research capabilities.
The Foundation’s Strategy Manager for
Māori Research and Innovation, Pereri
Hathaway, says the fellowships
encourage emerging scientists and help
explore potential opportunities
involving Māori knowledge that may
result in improved economic, social,
environmental and cultural benefits for
New Zealand.
“Assistance through the scheme
encourages Māori students into
scientific studies and also improves
educational opportunities for all
researchers, potentially unlocking fresh
innovative or entrepreneurial prospects
involving Māori knowledge and
resources,” he says.
The successful fellowship researchers and
their projects include:
Danielle Fox, University of Waikato. Danielle is originally from Gisborne, of
Ngāti Porou/Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent,
working towards her Masters degree. Her
year-long marine research will be based
around Goat Island near the Leigh Marine
Reserve north of Auckland, Tawharenui
(south of Leigh), Cathedral Cove on the
Coromandel Peninsula and the northern
Gisborne coastline. Leigh was New
Zealand’s first marine reserve, created in
1975. Overseas studies have found invasive
species become more abundant and prey
upon native species in such reserves.
Danielle’s research will check marine
reserve populations and also investigate the
effect of marine constructions, such as
wharves, marina, bridge pile structures and
artificial reefs, on marine life.
Nicholas Hay, University of Otago. Nicholas completed a Masters degree in
marine conservation at Victoria University.
He is studying the reasons for the depletion
of Tuaki, the New Zealand cockle, from the
Otago Harbour. The cockle is valuable to
tangata whenua as a taonga species for
subsistence and customary harvest.
Nicholas’s research aims to develop a
baseline study of size and distribution of
cockle beds around Otago and to provide
scientific information for monitoring and
managing harvests of marine resources,
with greater emphasis on community
involvement.
Robert (Rob) Win, University of Otago. Rob, originally from Nelson and studying
for a Masters degree in marine science, is
researching the impact of land use and the
dumping of harbour dredging on rocky
reef fish, such as blue cod, moki and butter
fish. Rob will monitor and study the
numbers of larval and juvenile fish in
coastal marine environments to help
taiāpure managers to identify critical
habitats for protection. His study will
provide a scientific basis for regulating
future land use on coastal boundaries. The
two-and-a-half year project also involves
an underwater survey of adult fish
numbers to give the baseline data on fish
health and populations.
Maori fellowships bolster scienceTen New Zealand university students have received Foundation for Research, Science and Technology fellowships for innovative Maori research projects.
MFish Senior Analyst seconded to MAFBNZMinistry of Fisheries (MFish) Senior Analyst Bob Johnston began a one-year secondment with MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) in late January 2009, joining the Environmental and Marine Response Team in the Post Border Directorate.
BIOSECURITY AND MAORI
Marine biosecurity policy, regulations, and science work was transferred from MFish to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in November 2004. The two agencies continue to work closely together, through forums and projects, on a range of strategic and operational issues concerning biosecurity in the marine environment.
Bob’s secondment will expose him to a wide range of marine biosecurity issues and provide opportunities for his input into MAFBNZ’s operational and strategic processes.
“I’ve been looking forward to it,” he says. “It’s an interesting and challenging area of work and MFish has a vested interest in ensuring that the MAFBNZ marine work is successful.
“MFish has an interest in any organism that might harm the sustainable use of fisheries. For instance, a harmful exotic species might slip into our waters through discharged ballast water, or by attaching to vessel hulls. We’re invested in any process, system, policy, or strategy that minimises the risks to our aquatic environment.”
Bob will be working on a variety of issues, including marine biosecurity partnerships, incursion responses and surveillance for pests and diseases in aquaculture and fishery areas.
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 11
90SUMMIT
Biodiversity improves ecosystem resilience
Professor Wratten says biodiversity delivers “nature’s
services”, which can ameliorate the impact of invaders.
This is particularly relevant in agriculture
“monocultures” (large areas of a single crop), where
biodiversity loss is normal but the consequences of which
can be difficult to detect.
He says that with overseas markets demanding reductions in
pesticide residues and real evidence of sustainability, New
Zealand needs biodiversity-driven resilience across all its
vulnerable monocultures.
Prof Wratten, who leads the Bio-Protection Research Centre
research team behind the “Greening Waipara” vineyard
biodiversity project in North Canterbury, says the keys to
improving resilience to pests in vineyards and other crops are
shelter, nectar, pollen and alternative prey.
For example, nectar from strips of flowering buckwheat in
vineyards improves the biocontrol efficacy of pest-
controlling wasps to such an extent that insecticides are no
longer needed.
New Zealand native plants with the potential to enhance
biodiversity are also now being put in under the grape vines,
and the future of New Zealand’s agricultural landscape could
well be a mix of natives and exotics grown amongst crops,
Prof Wratten says.
Greening Waipara was established in 2006 to enhance the
sustainability and biodiversity of winegrowing in the Waipara
Valley, about 40 minutes drive north of Christchurch. It is part
of a six-year Foundation for Research, Science and Technology
(FRST)–funded Lincoln University research project.
About 50 wineries have joined the project, which also has
funding from the Bio-Protection Research Centre, Waipara
Valley Winegrowers Association, the Japanese health food
company Four Leaf, which promotes socially and
environmentally responsible business, and the Hurunui
District Council.
This summer, three of the vineyards opened biodiversity
trails close to their respective tasting rooms or restaurants,
complete with information boards and an educational quiz
for children. The trails wind through vines and native plants,
showing visitors how Greening Waipara benefits New
Zealand’s wine production by encouraging nature’s services
– pollination and pest and disease control, as well as weed
suppression, improved soil quality, conservation and
eco-tourism. These add value to the vineyards while
reducing reliance on herbicides and chemical pesticides.
The aim now is to take these Functional Agricultural
Biodiversity (FAB) approaches to all of New Zealand’s main
wine growing regions and to the arable and pastoral sectors.
Prof Wratten is Professor of Ecology at Lincoln University, Deputy Director ■
of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, visiting Professor at the universities
of Sydney and Charles Sturt, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New
Zealand. He holds five degrees, including a Cambridge MA and two “higher
doctorates” (DSc). He is on the editorial board of seven international
journals, and his own refereed publications number more than 350,
including six books. He manages a prominent international research group
specialising in ecosystem services on farmland, including the ecological
basis of biological control of pests. His group pioneered the concept of
predator refugia, in the form of “beetle banks”. He has served on research
committees of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Foundation for Research,
Science and Technology and the Ministry of Research, Science and
Technology. He also writes for The Press and New Zealand Gardener.
A Californian broccoli paddock, where the grower has adopted Professor Wratten’s ecosystem resilience technology. The blue and white flower strips are phacelia (blue) and buckwheat (white).
Native plantings outside the Mud House vineyard and restaurant in Waipara – part of the Greening Waipara project.
Appropriate biodiversity in agriculture makes a real difference, Lincoln University Professor of Ecology
Steve Wratten told delegates at the Biosecurity Summit.
12 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
90 FRONTLINE NEWS
Importing cats, dogs and canine semenanalysis some years ago. The scope covered domestic cats,
dogs and canine semen from anywhere in the world.
The methodology used follows the standard MAFBNZ risk
analysis procedures.
A project team was established with representatives from the
Department of Conservation, Ministry of Health, Ministry of
Fisheries, New Zealand Food Safety Authority and Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry. In 2005, the project team
finalised a preliminary hazard list on which the risk analysis
was to be based.
Organisms identified as potential hazards are subjected to
individual risk assessments, which includes consideration of
the likelihood of entry (the disease agent being present at the
time of animal importation), likelihood of exposure (spread
and establishment if imported) and the likely adverse
consequences if the organism did establish. Options for
managing the risks are presented for organisms concluded to
be hazards in the imported animals.
Many organisms do not warrant risk management because
they are transmitted only by specific ticks, flies or
mosquitoes not present in New Zealand. However, if new
species of ticks or mosquitoes were to establish here in the
future, this might trigger further analysis for some of these
organisms.
MAFBNZ plans to release the draft risk analysis for public
consultation in the near future. Submissions from interested
parties on the import risk analysis, will be invited at that time.
The draft import risk analysis will be placed on the MAF website when it is released. To ■
register interest in receiving a hard copy by post, contact: Risk Analysis Team Support Officer, MAFBNZ, email [email protected] or phone (04) 894 0310.
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) will soon be
releasing a draft import risk analysis on the importation
of domestic cats, dogs and canine semen.
About 2000 cats and 3100 dogs are imported in to
New Zealand each year. The majority come from
Australia (60 percent) followed by the United
Kingdom (23 percent) and the United States (8 percent).
Imports are restricted to about 40 countries, although there
are an increasing number of requests to import these animals
from countries that are not currently eligible.
Since the movement in people – and therefore the trade in
pet cats and dogs – is becoming global, and because not all
countries are eligible to export, MAFBNZ began a risk
PEOP
LE IN
BIO
SECU
RITY
Deng Han (Leo) recently joined the MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) Border Standards Directorate as a Business Analyst in the Programme Development Group. Leo was previously a lecturer at Victoria University, Massey University and Whitireia Community Polytechnic Business Schools in Wellington. He was also a Business Analyst at Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and just prior to joining MAFBNZ, was a Business Consultant with Objective
Corporation. Leo emigrated to New Zealand from Malaysia in 1998, and has worked and studied here since gaining various postgraduate qualifications.
Quentin Richards has joined the Border Standards Directorate as a Business Analyst in the Programme Development Group. Quentin’s spent many years in the container shipping industry before undertaking contract roles in both the private and public sectors. Quentin brings experience in systems and business process development, implementation of those systems and in developing practical performance monitoring.
Megan Hirsch recently joined the Border Standards Directorate as an Executive Co-ordinator in the Business Support Group. She has worked in the public sector since receiving her Bachelor’s degree in 2006. Megan studied international economics at the University of California, San Diego, with a secondary focus in African studies.
Gisele Irvine has recently joined the Border Standards Directorate as a Senior Adviser in the Plant Exports Group. Gisele comes from Biosecurity Victoria, Australia, where she worked with the Plant Standards Branch for three years. She was involved in the implementation of an enhanced biosecurity system for plant industries, including project development and management, involvement in the management of Queensland fruit fly
outbreaks, investigations into new pest incursions and a brief foray into the world of IT systems. Prior to that, Gisele worked as a research scientist in plant pathology with the Department of Primary Industries in Victoria for 16 years. The research projects she was involved with included the utilisation of new diagnostic technologies for plant disease identification, control strategies for vegetable diseases and reviews into disease pathways. Gisele and her family have returned home to New Zealand after living overseas for 22 years.
Vicky Kitekei’aho has joined the Border Standards Directorate as a Team Support Officer in the Business Support Group. She previously worked for AsureQuality in the Food Laboratory in Lower Hutt, where she was involved in testing cattle serum, meat products and environmental samples. She has a degree in biomedical science from Victoria University of Wellington.
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MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 13
90FRONTLINE NEWS
ERADICATING WHITE BRYONY INFESTATIONS
White bryony is a pest plant
that has the potential to
smother native vegetation
and may be poisonous to stock if
consumed in large quantities.
White bryony (Bryonia cretica subsp.
dioica) is a cucumber-like vine that
rapidly grows up to 6 metres tall,
smothering and shading out whatever it
grows on. The female plants produce
bunches of five to eight small red berries
from January to April, which can be
spread by birds. The vine dies back in
autumn leaving a large underground
tuber that can sprout again.
It has only been found in two places in
New Zealand – around Mokai in the
Taihape area and at Aria and the
Mokauiti Valley in the King Country.
This limited distribution means there is
a realistic chance of eradicating it before
it spreads any further, says Jaap
Knegtmans from MAF Biosecurity New
Zealand (MAFBNZ), which is working
in partnership with the Department of
Conservation (DOC), Horizons
Regional Council and Environment
Waikato on an eradication programme
for white bryony.
Control work at the Rangitikei site is
supervised by Jack Beveridge from the
DOC Mangaweka Field Centre. Teams
are in the field during the growing
season from November to March.
Teams first search areas of known
infestations – mainly around Mokai and
along the river cliffs of the Rangitikei
River, Mr Beveridge says.
The plant can be found in a range of
places, including hedges, fence lines, in
rank grass, second growth native forest
and under kahikatea forest. It is often
found where birds roost.
Mr Beveridge says the rugged terrain
means various methods are used to
track down the plants.
We abseil into the more difficult to
reach places on river cliffs around
Mokai and also use rafts to search from
the river.
All plants found are destroyed by
cutting out the crowns and treating the
remainder with herbicide.
The white bryony eradication
programme is part of the national
interest pests initiative led by MAFBNZ
in partnership with DOC and regional
councils. It is both an unwanted
organism and a notifiable under the
Biosecurity Act 1993 and is banned
from sale, propagation or distribution.
Sighting of white bryony must be
reported to MAFBNZ on 0800 88 9966.
More information is on the MAFBNZ website: ■
www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/white-bryony
Over 2500 white bryony plants have been destroyed in this season’s
white bryony eradication response programme work in Rangitikei.
Epidemiologist joins MAFBNZPaul White has recently joined MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) as the Surveillance Team Manager (Animals) in the Post Border Directorate’s Surveillance Group.
Paul’s previous positions include three years as a Research Assistant in the Medicines Research Unit, School of Health, University of Derby, United Kingdom. During this time he trained in epidemiology at the Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, then moved north as one of the founding members of the University of Sheffield’s Public Health Geographical Information Sciences Unit, in the Department of Public Health.
After moving to New Zealand, Paul worked for the Ministry of Health (MoH) as the Principal Technical Specialist in spatial epidemiology, supervising the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) team and spatial epidemiology research within what was until recently Public Health Intelligence (PHI). This group provided advice on spatial epidemiology, surveillance and pandemic preparedness planning to the Ministry and across the wider health sector.
A significant platform of work during Paul’s time at MoH was the development of the Ministry’s influenza-like-illness syndromic sentinel surveillance system – the first national year-round surveillance system using multiple data sources in New Zealand, with data collected daily and reported weekly.
He holds a BA (Hons), an MSc (for which he undertook research using GIS to explore environmental and spatial patterning of asthma prescribing) and a PhD (for which he undertook research in developing methods for using GIS in public health and epidemiology). His research interests are centred on spatial epidemiology with particular reference to the application of spatial methods for outbreak detection, syndromic surveillance and infectious diseases.
Paul holds two honorary appointments – as adjunct senior fellow, Department of Geography, University of Canterbury, and research fellow, Centre of Public Health Research, Massey University. He also teaches at the Wellington School of Medicine, Otago University. These roles involve contributing to undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development programmes in public health, epidemiology and health geography.
P l’ i iti i l d th
14 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
90 FRONTLINE NEWS
MAFBNZ inspectors go beyond inspecting used vehicles out of Japan
The tower sections were contaminated
with insect egg masses and spider egg
sacks in the bolted steel plate region,
while leaves and soil were found under
the cables in the smallest tower
sections of each of the two units.
Again, all were removed.
During re-inspection of the covered
units, pine needles were found in the
gaps between the sections of the
windmill tower and wooden cradles.
These were picked out with long-
handled tweezers. There were pine
needles on the ground which had
been blown off the surrounding trees
by strong winds during the previous
few days.
Directly after checking the windmill
units, the truck inspection began.
Gross contamination including rose
bush branches, leaves and soil was
found in the trucks and steel cradles.
The rose branches were removed by
hand and the leaves swept off the
trucks with bamboo brooms.
This pre-shipment inspection showed
the benefit of keeping these biosecurity
risks offshore, and saved a lot of time
and effort at the arrival port in New
Zealand. The cleaning and
decontamination of this cumbersome
equipment in New Zealand would
have had to be carried out at a
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry-
approved area on the wharf to contain
any foreign contaminants. Any
cleaning requirements, directed by
MAFBNZ quarantine inspectors, can
result in considerable delays for the
importer, additional cleaning costs
and potentially demurrage costs, if
the cargo is not removed from the
wharf area within days of arrival.
Another example of a recent offshore
pre-inspection involved a Japanese
cruise ship destined for New Zealand.
Pre-shipment inspection not only keeps biosecurity risks offshore but also helps minimise potential delays in clearance, writes MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) Team Manager Offshore, Sue Gould.
MAFBNZ has seven
quarantine inspectors
working at various sites
throughout Japan pre-inspecting used
vehicles before they are shipped to
New Zealand. This work is done
under contract to four different
operators working in Japan.
We were approached recently to also
inspect some used wind turbines prior
to shipping to New Zealand. MAFBNZ
Quarantine Inspector Gavin Hansen,
from our Auckland cargo inspection
group, is based at an inspection site at
Kisarazu, in Tokyo Bay working for
Autoterminal Japan. Given the quieter
period over December including
working our Christmas Day, Gavin
was released from his worksite to assist
with the wind turbine pre-shipment
inspection.
All parts of the equipment, including
tower sections and blades, were
inspected – and soil, leaves, live
insects, spiders, spider egg sacks and
insect eggs and cocoons were found.
Soil, plant material, insect eggs and
spiders were found in the gaps
between the steel bolts that connect
the blades onto the central propeller
head. These were scraped out or
blown out with compressed air.
The view from the cruise ship Nippon Maru, during a pre-departure MAFBNZ inspection at the Yokohama Passenger Terminal, Japan.
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 15
90FRONTLINE NEWS
Kevin Hawkes, from the MAFBNZ
Auckland wharf site and currently
contracted to work at the Japan
Export Vehicle Inspection Centre
Co., Ltd. (JEVIC) Yokohama site, was
the ideal quarantine inspector for the
job because of his considerable
experience as a shipping inspector in
New Zealand.
The vessel was Nippon Maru, a
medium-sized Japanese cruise ship.
The ship required inspection for
evidence of Asian Gypsy Moth
(AGM) having visited the high-risk
ports of Korsakov, Russia, and
Hakodate, Japan, during the moth’s
flight season in September 2008.
The inspection was done at the
Yokohama Passenger Terminal on
22 January. Kevin was accompanied
by a JEVIC representative as an
observer. JEVIC carries out these
vessel inspections for other countries
too, so this was a useful exercise for
both parties in knowledge sharing.
The inspectors were welcomed on
board by the Captain, who assigned
his second officer to accompany them
and attend to their requirements.
They needed ladders to access higher
parts of the vessel and also used a
mirror on a long handle.
Inspection started on the top (eighth)
deck, working methodically down the
vessel. The seventh deck had a pool
area covered by a plastic-panelled
opening roof. A dead egg mass
measuring approximately 2 cm was
found on one of the plastic panels
and removed.
A “Certificate of Freedom from
Gypsy Moth” was issued by Kevin
when no further evidence of AGM
was found.
Without this offshore inspection the
vessel would have needed to be
boarded at sea 8 km off the
New Zealand coast during daylight
hours by MAFBNZ quarantine
inspectors. The inspection normally
takes most of a day to complete, thus
delaying entry to the port. Any delay
in cruising schedules has a negative
impact on New Zealand’s tourism
industry, not to mention the
discomfort for passengers sitting off
the coast in any potential swell.
Nippon Maru voyage 807 departed
Yokohama on 23 January, sailing via
Port Villa and Nukualofa, to arrive in
Auckland on 11 February. It departed
our waters on 14 February.
The help and co-operation received
from Captain Murakami and his crew
was much appreciated. Thanks also to
both of the Japan operators for their
generous understanding in releasing
our MAFBNZ quarantine inspectors
to facilitate these offshore pre-
inspections.
Sue Gould, Team Manager Offshore, MAFBNZ, ■
MAFBNZ's Kevin Hawkes inspects the Japanese cruise ship Nippon Maru.
Wind turbines in Japan prior to shipping to New Zealand.
16 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
90 BIOSECURITY SYSTEMS
PREPARING FOR EMERGENCIES
A joint agency training workshop
has helped MAF Biosecurity New
Zealand (MAFBNZ) staff be well
prepared for managing major
biosecurity incursions.
MAFBNZ Investigation and
Diagnostic Centre (IDC)
Wallaceville incursion
investigators and laboratory team
managers recently attended a three day
Co-ordinated Incident Management
System (CIMS) training workshop. They
were joined at Wallaceville by the
MAFBNZ Incursion Response System
team, along with staff from other
agencies, including the New Zealand
Defence Force, Institute of
Environmental Science and Research,
Department of Corrections, New
Zealand Food Safety Authority and
private sector supermarket company
Foodstuffs.
Training was provided at IDC
Wallaceville by tutors from the
Emergency Management Academy,
which is based in Palmerston North. A
large part of the three days included
scenario-based exercises, where
participants were expected to perform
the main roles making up an incident
management team.
CIMS was developed in 1997 by the New
Zealand Fire Service and other
emergency agencies as a common and
co-ordinated approach to incident
management. The CIMS model is used
to manage incidents ranging in size from
car accidents to large scale disasters, such
as major earthquakes. In recent years,
CIMS has been increasingly adopted by
other agencies and businesses
throughout New Zealand as a valuable
model to improve the management of
emergency incidents.
Incident management systems are not
new – the first such system was developed
in 1970 in Southern California in
response to large forest fires, and similar
national systems have been developed in
many countries throughout the world.
Key elements of CIMS are a common
terminology and organisational structure
so that different agencies can work
together with a clear understanding of
these. Other vital elements include
integration of communications,
maintaining a manageable span of
control, recognition of certain designated
incident facilities and planning.
During 2008, MAFBNZ investigators
and team managers from both the
Animals and Marine, and the Plant and
Environment Incursion Investigation
teams have undertaken CIMS Level 4
training.
The management of investigation and
initial response activities form a core part
of the workload for both these teams and
often have much in common with the
fast-paced management required for
emergency incident management.
Deployment of incursion investigators
earlier this year during Exercise
Resolution, a police-lead counter-
terrorist simulation exercise, gave plenty
of opportunity to use the CIMS skills in a
multi-agency environment.
During Exercise Resolution, Caleb King,
an IDC Wallaceville Incursion
Investigator, filled the role of Operations
Manager based at the Exotic Disease
Response Centre. Caleb had recently
attended the CIMS training and found
many of the planning skills extremely
valuable.
“Experience of the CIMS model allowed
me to quickly prioritise the issues at hand
with [the exercise scenario of] a possible
release of an unknown biological agent
on a farm in Raglan, and identify and
assign tasks to different operational
units,” he says.
“The use of concise situation reports that
were taught during the CIMS training
were also invaluable to quickly inform
strategic leadership of the rapidly
changing situation on the ground.”
Internationally, incident management
systems have been proven to increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of incident
management by avoiding duplication of
effort and increasing integration of
different agencies.
For example, in a large response to an
exotic animal disease, such as Foot and
Mouth Disease (FMD), available
resources would be quickly exhausted,
requiring the involvement of other
government agencies and private
companies. This situation occurred
during the United Kingdom’s FMD
outbreak in 2001.
IDC Wallaceville Incursion Investigator
Chris Morley was working for the UK
Government in both field and
management roles during that time.
“One of the biggest problems I observed
in the early days of the FMD outbreak
was the inability of regional veterinary
and animal health managers to quickly
scale up and lead large numbers of
people from other agencies,” he says.
“This was not surprising as they had not
had to do this before, had little support
and they had not been trained in this
role. Had these managers been exposed
and trained in CIMS, I’m convinced their
effectiveness – and consequently the
overall outbreak management – would
have been significantly improved.”
The skills developed through CIMS
training are used regularly during the
management of biosecurity incursions.
When the next major response occurs in
New Zealand, these skills will become
even more critical to its effective
management.
Chris Morley, Incursion Investigator (Animals), ■
MAFBNZ, [email protected]
Attending CIMs training at IDC Wallaceville are (from left): Lisa van Duin, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, and Wendy McDonald, IDC, with team members from the New Zealand Defence Force and Department of Corrections.
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 17
90UPDATES
IMPORT HEALTH STANDARD FOR SPECIFIED COOKED POULTRY MEAT PRODUCTS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION FROM AUSTRALIAMAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) has issued a new import health standard (IHS): Importing Specified Cooked Poultry Meat Products for Human Consumption from Australia. The standard is dated 26 January 2009, and can be viewed on the MAFBNZ website at: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/animals/standards/meapouic.aus.htm
This IHS sets the requirements to import cooked poultry meat products from compartments free of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) in Australia. Recognition of a compartment’s freedom from the disease is based on MAFBNZ approval of a biosecurity plan submitted by the Australian Veterinary Authority that follows the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Code guidelines. Poultry meat may originate either from an export farm in Australia that belongs to a compartment free of IBDV, or from specified poultry farm(s) in New Zealand. Processing into final cooked poultry meat products will take place in Australia, under strict biosecurity measures defined in the biosecurity plan.
Any questions relating to this new import health standard can be directed to: Animal Imports, Biosecurity New Zealand, PO Box 2526, Wellington.Phone: 04 894 0459, Fax: 04 894 0662, Email: [email protected]
UPDATESIMPORT HEALTH STANDARD FOR IMPORTATION OF FERTILISERS AND GROWING MEDIA OF PLANT ORIGIN MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) has issued the new import health standard (IHS): Importation of Fertilisers and Growing Media of Plant Origin. The standard is dated 20 February 2009, and can be viewed on the MAFBNZ website at: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/plants/standards/bnz-fertgro-imprt.htm
The purpose of this IHS is to serve as a framework for plant products used as fertilisers and growing media that do not currently belong in any other IHS. The majority of products covered by this IHS have been imported previously through permits and internally approved lists, and little change is being made to existing regulations.
Any questions relating to this new import health standard can be directed to: Plant Imports, Biosecurity New Zealand, PO Box 2526, Wellington.Phone: 04 894 0460, Fax: 04 894 0662, Email: [email protected]
Liz de Jong has joined the MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) Border Standards Directorate as a Business Support Adviser. Liz previously worked for the Ministry of Justice, where she provided financial support to an infrastructure work programme. Before that, Liz spent many years at the State Services Commission working in the Finance team in a number of roles.
Alan Macleod has joined the Border Standards Directorate as Animal Exports Team Manager in the Animal Imports and Exports Group. He previously worked for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA). Alan was a veterinarian in private practice (small, large and wildlife) in South Africa for 26 years before joining MAF Quality Management (Meat) in 1996. He served as a Supervising Veterinarian (SV) in
Thames, followed by five years with MAF Quarantine Services as a Port Veterinarian at Auckland Airport. Alan returned to South Africa for five years and worked in laboratory animal research and bioethics, and on wildlife research projects. He also served on 32 animal research ethics committees and was a member of the South African Environmental Forensics Working Group. He was responsible for compiling the new South African standards for Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes and for auditing animal research laboratories and holding facilities throughout South Africa.
Erin Maher has joined the Border Standards Directorate as an Adviser in the Animal Imports Team. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in genetics and biochemistry at Massey University in Palmerston North last year, where she gained a variety of practical experience with genetically modified organisms and medical diagnostic techniques. Erin is particularly interested in the importation of biological products.
Katherine Garnett has joined the Post Border Directorate as a Team Support Officer for the Pests and Pathways Team. She is involved in statutory appointments and will also be the National Pest Plant Accord database co-ordinator. Before joining the Post Border Directorate, Katherine spent more than five years with the Investigation and Diagnostic Centre (IDC), Wallaceville, as an Immunology Laboratory Technician. She completed her Bachelor of Science in zoology at the
University of Canterbury in 2002 and in the same year, also gained her Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) from the Wellington College of Education.
Karyn Froud has recently been appointed Incursion Investigation Group Manager for the Investigation and Diagnostic Centres. Karyn has worked for MAF for the past six years as Team Manager for the Plants and Environment Incursion Investigation Team. Prior to this she worked for nine years as a horticultural entomologist at HortResearch, where she specialised in researching plant virus vector
ecology, pest monitoring systems and biological control. Karyn has a Master of Science degree in entomology from the University of Auckland and is currently the vice-President of the New Zealand Plant Protection Society.
Mark Bullians has been appointed Team Manager of the Incursion Investigation Plants and Environment team, IDC. Mark’s prior experience includes six years as an Incursion Investigator (IDC); five years as an entomologist with MAF, AgriQuality Ltd and Landcare Ltd; and wide experience in operational and planning roles in many responses. Mark has a Master of Science degree in
entomology from the University of Auckland. He will be leading the team responsible for receiving and assessing notifications, and undertaking investigations of suspect exotic pests and diseases affecting plants and the environment.
Richard Spence joined MAF Biosecurity New Zealand in January as a Bacteriology Scientist in the Bacteriology and Aquatic Animal Diseases Team at the IDC, Wallaceville. Richard previously worked as a Clinical Scientist in the Clinical Microbiology Department of Leicester Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom, where he was responsible for running the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory. He
undertook his PhD at the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Nottingham, UK, where he worked on the development of novel molecular diagnostic tests for Staphylococcus aureus. Richard also spent three years working for the Health Protection Agency at Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, where he was involved in diagnostic clinical microbiology as well as various research projects. Richard’s main research interests are focused on the development of novel molecular diagnostic assays for bacterial pathogens as well as understanding the epidemiology of these pathogens.
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18 MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND
90 DIRECTORY
Pest watch: 20/12/2008 – 20/02/2009Biosecurity is about managing risks – protecting the New Zealand environment and economy from exotic pests and diseases. MAF Biosecurity New Zealand devotes much of its time to ensuring that new organism records come to its attention, to follow up as appropriate. The tables here list new organisms that have become established, new hosts for existing pests and extensions to distribution of existing pests. The information was collated between 20 December 2008 and 20 February 2009. The plant information is held in the Plant Pest Information Network (PPIN) database. Wherever possible, common names have been included.
ANIMAL KINGDOM RECORDSValidated new to New Zealand reportsNo new to New Zealand records during this period.
New host reportsNo new host records during this period.
Extension to distribution reportsNo extension to distribution records during this period.
If you have any enquiries regarding this information please email ■ [email protected]
PLANT KINGDOM RECORDSValidated new to New Zealand reportsOrganism Host Location Submitted by Comments
Antonina socialis Bambusa multiplex Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance) Originally reported in 2008(cottony bamboo mealybug) (bamboo) as Antonina crawi. A. crawi is not known to occur in New Zealand
Dicyma ovalispora Cortaderia selloana Auckland General Surveillance(fungus: no common name) (Pampas grass)
Significant find reportsOrganism Host Location Submitted by Comments
No significant find records during this period.
New host reportsOrganism Host Location Submitted by Comments
Oemona hirta Casimiroa edulis Auckland General Surveillance(lemon tree borer) (white sapote)
Hemiberlesia lataniae Fuchsia procumbens Auckland General Surveillance(latania scale) (climbing fuchsia)
Ceroplastes sinensis Fuchsia procumbens Auckland General Surveillance(Chinese wax scale) (climbing fuchsia)
Saissetia oleae Fuchsia procumbens Auckland General Surveillance(black scale, olive scale) (climbing fuchsia)
Aenetus virescens Ligustrum sinense Bay of Plenty Scion (high risk site surveillance)(puriri moth) (Chinese privet)
Kalotermes brouni Buddleja davidii Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(New Zealand drywood termite) (buddleia, summer lilac)
Didymus intutus Buddleja davidii Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(beetle: no common name) (buddleia, summer lilac)
Botryosphaeria stevensii Acer platanoides Nelson Scion (high risk site surveillance)(black rot, diplodia canker) (Norway maple)
Alternaria alternata Pseudotsuga menziesii Taupo Scion (high risk site surveillance)(alternaria rot, sooty mould) (Douglas fir)
Spilotrogia pulchella Lagunaria patersonia Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(beetle: no common name) (Norfolk Island hibiscus)
Mitophyllus arcuatus Prunus sp. Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(beetle: no common name) (Prunus)
Lindingaspis rossi Plagianthus regius Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(circular black scale, Ross’s black scale) (manatu, ribbonwood)
Luteovirus Barley yellow dwarf virus strain PAV Microlaena stipoides Coromandel University of Auckland(BYDV-PAV) (microlaena, weeping grass)
MAF BIOSECURITY NEW ZEALAND 19
90DIRECTORY
Organism Host Location Submitted by Comments
Pseudaulacaspis cordylinidis Cordyline terminalis Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(scale: no common name) (Hawaiian ti)
Leucaspis cordylinidis Cordyline terminalis Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(scale insect: no common name) (Hawaiian ti)
Nipaecoccus aurilanatus Araucaria angustifolia Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(golden mealybug) (Brazilian pine)
Icerya purchasi Pittosporum tenuifolium Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(cottony cushion scale) (kohuhu, pittosporum)
Bionectria ochroleuca Quercus robur Nelson Scion (high risk site surveillance) Found as Clonostachys rosea(fungus: no common name) (English oak, truffle oak)
Ochrosopsis subfasciatus Eucalyptus pauciflora Wairarapa Scion (high risk site surveillance)(chrysomelid beetle) (cabbage gum, eucalypt)
Paropsis charybdis Eucalyptus pauciflora Wairarapa Scion (high risk site surveillance)(eucalyptus tortoise beetle) (cabbage gum, eucalypt)
Phloeophagosoma dilutum Phormium tenax Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(beetle: no common name) (New Zealand flax)
Ctenopseustis obliquana Paraserianthes lophantha Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(brown headed leafroller) (brush wattle)
Ctenopseustis obliquana Syncarpia glomulifera Bay of Plenty Scion (high risk site surveillance)(brown headed leafroller) (lustre wood, turpentine tree)
Hemiberlesia rapax Hebe topiaria (hebe) Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(greedy scale)
Ceroplastes sinensis Punica granatum Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(Chinese wax scale) (pomegranate)
Saissetia coffeae Schefflera actinophylla Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(hemispherical scale) (Queensland umbrella tree)
Pseudococcus longispinus Schefflera actinophylla Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(longtailed mealybug) (Queensland umbrella tree)
Coccus hesperidum Schefflera actinophylla Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(brown soft scale) (Queensland umbrella tree)
Ochrosopsis subfasciatus Syzygium smithii Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(chrysomelid beetle) (Lilly pilly, monkey apple)
Prionoplus reticularis Pinus nigra Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(huhu beetle) (black pine)
Oemona hirta Euonymus japonicus Wellington Scion (high risk site surveillance)(lemon tree borer) (evergreen euonymus, Japanese spindle tree)
Mitophyllus arcuatus Stranvaesia davidiana Auckland Scion (high risk site surveillance)(beetle: no common name) (syn: Photinia davidiana)
Lepteutypa cupressi Chamaecyparis nootkatensis Marlborough Scion (ad hoc collection) Originally reported in 2008(fungus: no common name) (Nootka cypress) as Seiridium cupressi
New distribution reportsOrganism Host Location Submitted by Comments
Stegommata sulfuratella Banksia integrifolia Wairarapa Scion (high risk site surveillance)(banksia leaf miner) (coastal banksia)
Blastobasis tarda sp. nr. Malus sylvestris var. domestica Hawkes Bay Export Pre-Clearance(moth: no common name) (apple)
Mycosphaerella handelii Rhododendron sp. Westland Scion (high risk site surveillance) Found as Pseudocercospora(fungus: no common name) (rhododendron) handelii
If you have any enquiries regarding this information please email [email protected] ■
Exotic disease and pest emergency hotline: 0800 80 99 66
Animal welfare complaint hotline: 0800 32 70 27
www.biosecurity.govt.nz