With news of the bee-killing Varroa mite reaching Tamworth for the first time, local beekeepers are waiting with baited breath as the state government moves to kill all potentially affected bees.
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The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) immediately established emergency eradication and surveillance zones around the sites West of Tamworth under a biosecurity emergency order published on Sunday, September 3.
All bees within the 'red' eradication zones must be killed.
"We need to go and euthanise any managed hives in that area and then there's a baiting program to follow up on wild bees in that area," NSW DPI Deputy Incident Controller for Varroa response Dr Shannon Mulholland said.
Beekeepers whose hives are subject to euthanasia will be eligible for reimbursement of up to $550 per hive.
Additionally, beehives within a large radius of the infested hives, dubbed the 'purple' surveillance zones, are not allowed to be moved in or out of the zone's 25 kilometre radius.
Dr Mulholland said work in these zones will be ongoing "for some time to come" as the DPI's resources are being stretched across the state.
"We now have new zones that are coming online so we do need to move people across the state, so work in those zones isn't instantaneous, but we do work on those areas as quick as we possibly can."
The NSW DPI have themselves become a swarm of busy bees in recent weeks as a flare-up of Varroa mite infestations has sent staff everywhere from the North Coast to the border of Victoria.
"We've had teams surveying quite busily across the state over recent days, following the IP detections in the Kempsey area we now understand there is quite a cluster of Varroa infestation in that zone," Dr Mulholland said.
Tracing commercial bee movements from the Kempsey cluster led to the discovery of new Varroa mite infestations in beehives in Tamworth and Boggabri, the first in New England since a detection in Narrabri stung the local beekeeping industry in July last year.
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Dr Mulholland says the silver lining in these new Varroa mite detections is that they all came from the same area, so the DPI knows "exactly where those movements occurred and when they occurred".
She said registered beekeepers in Tamworth should expect to be contacted by the NSW DPI soon.
"Our public information teams are contacting individual beekeepers depending on what zone they're in with instructions about what the next steps look like and what the current situation is," Dr Mulholland said.
But with the majority of the state's 236 infestations taking place near the initial outbreak in Newcastle, it may be weeks before the NSW DPI is able to reach the New England region.
"The Newcastle and Central Coast zones are where the focus of our infested premises do currently exist, and there's still more work underway in those areas," Dr Mulholland said.
With the recent spike in Varroa mite detections - more infestations have been detected in the last month than in the previous six combined - calls are increasing for a second state-wide lockdown on bee migrations.
But Dr Muholland said another lockdown would be "very difficult" for the DPI to implement and have a "very significant knock-on effect" on the state's food security.
"If we stop hive movements, we stop crop pollination, and that's a very significant hit to our agricultural economy," she said.
"It's not a simple case of just stopping all movements, there are some movements that need to happen to support other industries."
Instead, the DPI has set up multiple systems for tracking bee movements across the state, however its efforts to control the spread of Varroa mites depend heavily on industry cooperation, and exceptions are being made
"What it relies on is a high level of compliance from industry to follow those rules and to make sure they are checking their hives and moving those hives in accordance with the emergency order," Dr Muholland said.
She also said the department is working closely with NSW Police "behind the scenes" to investigate and enforce restrictions on hive movements.
"That process has already resulted in a number of penalty notices being issued and it may also result in prosecution depending on the nature of the breach," Dr Muholland said.
Lastly, she said while the recent spike in Varroa mite detections has set back the DPI's efforts to completely eradicate the pest, the department is still confident it will achieve its mission.
"Eradication is still the goal. That has always been the goal and we will pursue that goal as long as it's technically feasible," Dr Muholland said.
"The recent developments have introduced new challenges to the response for sure, but we do have a very well-resourced team and a lot of experience in dealing with this mite and these detections."
All beekeepers within the red and purple zones must report their hives to NSW DPI by filling out an online form at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au or by calling the Varroa Emergency Response Hotline on 1800 084 881.
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