Fruit fly operation ends on Auckland’s North Shore after almost a year

Biosecurity New Zealand has ended its Northcote fruit fly operations and lifted restrictions on the movement of fruit and vegetables on Auckland’s North Shore.

The lift brings an almost year-long operation to a close after a Queensland fruit fly was discovered in a surveillance trap in the area last February.

“While this is great news, we remind people in the area to still stay vigilant for signs of the fruit fly,” Biosecurity New Zealand spokesperson Dr Cath Duthie said.

“It’s now been six months since a fly was last trapped in the area, and this, along with an intensive baiting programme throughout the spring and the inspection of hundreds of kilos of fruit without a find, has given us confidence there is currently no breeding population of the Queensland fruit fly in Northcote.”

“We can once again declare that New Zealand is free of the Queensland fruit fly.”

Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor thanked the North Shore community for their support of the operation.