Skip to main content - access key 'c' Skip to main menu - access key 'm' Skip to quick search - access key 's' Skip to global site navigation - access key 'g'

AQIS Bulletin - June/July 2009

Other formats

This information is also available in the following format:

 
Image of the front cover of the AQIS Bulletin June-July 2009 edition

Biosecurity Services Group (BSG)

As of 1 July 2009, we are now the Biosecurity Services Group, a division within DAFF. The Biosecurity Services Group integrates the functions of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service; Biosecurity Australia; the biosecurity parts of Product Integrity, Animal and Plant Health division; and the Quarantine and Biosecurity Policy Unit. The new structure will lead to better service delivery along the biosecurity continuum (pre–border, border and post–border) and improved biosecurity risk management. For more information on the Biosecurity Services Group see the DAFF website.

Minister Burke drops in to meet staff

A couple of AQIS regional offices have recently had a surprise visitor wander in off the street—the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke.

Staff in both the Bundaberg and the Hobart offices have been paid an unexpected visit.

Tony was already in the Bundaberg region to meet with commercial fishers and visit a sugarcane mulch producer and food processor.

AQIS officer Joel Kraut was dealing with a customer one Thursday afternoon when Tony walked in the door and had a chat.

In Hobart, Tony dropped in to the AQIS office after attending the Primary Industries and Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council meetings.

He thanked staff for their on-going role in helping to prevent the spread of swine flu and said a number of his ministerial colleagues had commented on the professionalism of AQIS staff, including the Prime Minister and Health Minister Nicola Roxon.

Tony said he thought the Tasmanian quarantine team faced particular challenges, given the state's high volume of passengers entering through ports.

Hippo goes troppo

AQIS officers in Far North Queensland are used to dangerous creatures living in local waterways but it didn’t stop them becoming fascinated with a skull of a full–grown Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious).

The skull was part of a consignment imported by a Cairns resident from Zimbabwe. The air cargo shipment also included zebra, wildebeest, jackal and wart hog skins which were all released after being treated by AQIS with gamma radiation.

The hippo skull was identified by Customs as requiring a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permit. It was forwarded to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) for processing.

AQIS detects exotic fish virus

On a recent inspection of freshwater ornamental fish arriving in Perth, AQIS officers Valerie Larner, Dave Pelham and Jahn Giolitto knew something wasn't quite right when several species of fish were not as lively as usual. Their experience and understanding of fish alerted them to an exotic virus that could cause serious problems if it escaped and spread in Australia.

Val, Jahn and Dave inspect thousands of fish every month so they know how fish behave when healthy and also when they are not. When the officers inspected the consignment, they knew things looked a bit fishy.

'The fish were not as lively as they usually are. Normally, the fish are actively swimming around the aquarium; however, this wasn’t the case with this tank of fish', said Jahn.

After a short period in post-arrival quarantine, several species of fish were still not behaving normally.

The officers took samples of each of the species and sent them to the Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food’s fish health laboratory for testing. One species was found to be infected with cichlid iridovirus, a virus considered exotic to Australia.

Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this virus and the remainder of the fish of this species in the consignment were euthanised.

A sharp eye and an extensive fish background helped these AQIS officers prevent the entry of a virus recognised as a quarantine risk associated with importation of ornamental fish.

Existing quarantine measures for the millions of ornamental finfish imported each year include pre-export quarantine, health certification and post-arrival quarantine. 

Quarantine policy for freshwater ornamental fish

Evidence indicating possible changes to the understanding of gourami iridovirus has prompted a review of Australia's quarantine policy for freshwater ornamental finfish.

Biosecurity Australia consulted stakeholders on a draft import risk analysis report for freshwater ornamental finfish assessing quarantine risks associated with gourami iridovirus and related viruses. (The comment period has now closed after being extended to 24 June 2009).

The draft report recommended additional tighter quarantine measures for ornamental finfish. These are:

  • sourcing fish from populations demonstrated to be free of the iridoviruses of quarantine concern, or

  • batch-testing on arrival to show fish are free of iridoviruses of quarantine concern.

The ornamental fish include gouramis, cichlids (such as angelfish and oscars) and poeciliids (such as guppies and platys), which are sought after aquarium species native to South East Asia and Africa.

More progress on biosecurity improvements

The Government released a second independent report in June showing it continues to make improvements to Australia’s biosecurity after the 2007 equine influenza outbreak.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke released the report by Professor Peter Shergold, who has been appointed to independently verify that the Government's response to the Callinan Inquiry report is being implemented.

His second report finds the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 'continues to make good progress' implementing that response.

The Callinan Inquiry report, which was released in June 2008, made 38 recommendations which the Government accepted in full.

Mr Burke said industry estimated the equine influenza outbreak cost at least $1 billion and the Government would continue to improve Australia’s biosecurity measures.

'We need a rigorous biosecurity system to help protect our agricultural industries against pests and disease,' Mr Burke said.

'I am pleased Professor Shergold has delivered such positive feedback on our progress implementing our response to the Callinan Inquiry.'

The full report can be found on the AQIS website.            

Boost to Australia's citrus exports with fruit fly free recognition

The Rudd Government recently announced Australian citrus exports had received a boost with Japan recognising the Greater Sunraysia district as a fruit fly free area.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke said growers from Mildura to Swan Hill would welcome the news that fruit no longer has to undergo costly treatment before it is exported to Japan.

Under current requirements, oranges, lemons and mandarins must undergo cold disinfestation treatment once harvested, to eliminate possible fruit flies.
Japan now recognises the Sunraysia as fruit fly free, due to the surveillance, trapping and incursion response systems run by the NSW and Victorian departments of primary industries.

Australia exported almost 15,000 tonnes of citrus to Japan last calendar year, worth more than $19 million dollars.

'The Government continues working to improve market access for our growers and exporters, who produce high quality fruit and vegetables for consumers around the globe,' Mr Burke said.

'Under these new export arrangements, oranges, lemons and mandarins will arrive in Japan in better condition and Australian exporters will avoid the considerable expense of the treatment.

'Biosecurity Australia has worked closely with the Australian citrus industry and Japan's quarantine authority to gain this recognition of the area's fruit fly free status.

'I discussed this issue with my Japanese counterpart during a visit to Japan last year and welcome the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture's decision.

'We will continue to work with the Japanese quarantine authorities, the Australian citrus industry and state departments to implement the improved import conditions for the coming season.

'After years of minimal water allocations, this will be welcome news for the citrus farmers of the Sunraysia district.

'This was one of the first regions I visited after becoming Minister and growers at the time raised with me the importance of improving market access to Japan.

'I'm pleased to be able to report back on this win, just over 12 months later.'

During the visit to Japan last year, Mr Burke was accompanied by citrus growers including from the Murray Valley Citrus Board in the Greater Sunraysia district.

No mass–energy equivalence but eMTC is verified

E = mc² it isn't, however eMTC is providing increased efficiency, security and verification for meat transfer certification.

eMTC is the new Electronic Meat Transfer Certificates system that is bringing the old paper-based process into the 21st Century. Developed by Meat and Livestock Australia together with industry and AQIS, the process is now used by a variety of people in the export process: abattoirs, boning rooms, processors, cold storage facilities and AQIS, and is in accordance with international standards.

AQIS requires a record every time export quality meat is transferred from one registered establishment to another, a time consuming process normally but not any longer.
The eMTC message is formatted to a United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT) standard. It is received via email with an attachment in a format resembling a printed meat transfer certificate. The receiver is then able to check and verify the eMTC details and send a receipt email to the sender.  

The message is then electronically archived by AQIS for record and audit purposes.

The move away from paper-based forms and certificates holds enormous benefits, including:

  • reduced paper, postage and administration costs to AQIS and industry

  • a higher level of security is provided

  • AQIS is notified of transfers immediately instead of waiting for paper certificates to arrive in the mail or via a courier

  • the storing of certificates and the corresponding receipt advice will allow AQIS to determine if there are any discrepancies and allow these problems to be addressed

  • locating records is easier

  • reduced filing and archiving.

Full implementation of the eMTC system is scheduled for June 2009.

For more information on eMTC please email John Langbridge. 

A high level of service—Australian animal quarantine stations

Every year thousands of animals arrive in Australia and are required to undergo quarantine at one of Australia's three animal quarantine stations. The stations are located in New South Wales (Eastern Creek), Western Australia (Byford) and Victoria (Spotswood). Animal quarantine stations are operated by AQIS to help protect Australia's favourable animal health status by monitoring an animal’s health prior to its release into Australia. Last year 7677 dog and cats spent time at Australia's government quarantine stations.

Prior to importation, the Live Animal Imports (LAI) Program in Canberra provides information and assistance for clients wanting to import animals into Australia. The LAI Program issues thousands of permits each year and provides technical advice to clients regarding all aspects of the importation process. The LAI Program registered over 10,000 emails and a similar number of phone calls with importing clients in 2008. The work of the LAI national program also continues following the importation of the animals, with ongoing liaison and provision of advice to regional import clearance staff and to the management and other staff at the quarantine stations.

AQIS veterinarians conduct full health checks on all animals immediately after arrival and just prior to departure from the quarantine stations. Animal attendants are assigned to care for the animals during the quarantine period and this contact enables handlers to recognise any developing health problems and individual personality quirks that animals show. If health problems do arise, the owner is contacted and the animal referred to an AQIS vet immediately.

Comments from clients indicate it is the outstanding service pets receive from experienced animal attendants that assists to alleviate the anxiety felt by pet owners. While dogs and cats make up more than 90 per cent overall of animal inhabitants at the three stations, other species that are/can be accommodated include horses, alpacas, rabbits and pigeons. The Eastern Creek Quarantine Station also has the facilities to house imported honey bees; however, import conditions for this species are currently suspended.

For more information on importing an animal, visit the AQIS website.

All AQIS animal quarantine stations and the Live Animal Imports Program in Canberra receive regular compliments and feedback from satisfied pet owners.

For example:

Spotswood, Victoria:

'It was obvious they all truly cared for the animals they looked after. It gave me peace of mind knowing that a kennel hand was taking care of my dog while in quarantine. I was encouraged that they remembered the animals by name!'

'Both dogs returned from Spotswood in fantastic health. My diabetic dog was healthier during and after his stay than before entering Spotswood!'

Byford, Western Australia:

'Halle (our golden retriever)completed her 30 day quarantine period at the Byford Quarantine Facility in Western Australia. I found the staff to be extremely professional, courteous, and most importantly, showed a lot of care for the well being and comfort of Halle… We would like to thank you for the wonderful service and care we received. It certainly made us feel a lot better about our dog having to go through the quarantine period.'

Eastern Creek, New South Wales:

'Our 11 year-old cat recently travelled from the UK and we would like to thank and praise the efforts of all staff involved, your professionalism was the best!'

'We want to commend our dog's "carer"—they took excellent care of our dog Emma. She was organised, thoughtful and knew each dog's requirements off the top of her head. We were very impressed with her ability to manage the numerous dogs in her care with such specialised treatment that made all the difference for our dog Emma during her stay...'

Super seed–finder

In just his second fresh produce inspection of strawberries, AQIS officer Nick Anderson detected an exotic grass seed that has the ability to choke river systems and waterways if it were to establish itself in Australia.

Nick is used to detecting exotic grass seeds on newly imported cars at the Port of Brisbane, honed from his role as an AQIS officer based at the port. So when he found a grass seed earlier this month on an air–cargo consignment of strawberries from the USA, he knew it was definitely out of place and 'could possibly be something of quarantine concern'.

Nick found and removed the grass seed which was stuck to the red flesh of a strawberry he'd been carefully examining under a 'maggy' lamp (a lamp and magnifier in one) as part of an AQIS inspection on fresh produce, unloaded from an air can at the South Queensland regional office at Eagle Farm.

'When you're inspecting strawberries, you get used to looking at the redness of the fruit, so something like a grass seed with large white hairs or "pappi" is easy to recognise and pick out,' explained Nick.

'With fresh produce like strawberries, we take a random sample of 600 units of fruit. Ninety per cent of these are checked at low volume magnification using the maggy lamp. The remaining 10 per cent are checked under a microscope.'

The grass seed was placed into a vial with a screw–top lid and sent to an International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) accredited laboratory in Gatton, Qld, 90 km west of Brisbane, where it was formally identified as being from the Typha spp.—an exotic weed that grows prolifically around water courses. 

Two hundred and eighty kilograms of fresh strawberries were put on quarantine hold until the lab results came back, with the broker then given several options to treat the consignment to address the quarantine risk. 

In 2008 alone there was more than  694,372 kg of strawberries imported into Australia.

AQIS officers must be accredited to inspect fresh produce, and get their accreditation through completing various practical inspections that examines fresh produce risk, what tools to use and how to clean them, the most likely sites of infestation, and the common insects and diseases associated with the produce.

Bird's nest takes sea route

The Port of Melbourne is Australia's busiest port for containers and general cargo and AQIS officers stationed at the port conduct a broad range of surveillance and inspection activities. These include clearance of break bulk cargo such as new and used agricultural machinery, cars, timber and steel. They also contribute to External Container Inspection Regime (ECIR) activity including surveillance for giant African snail (GAS).

Staff cover a lot of ground between the port's docks as they are responsible for monitoring and surveillance activities at Webb Dock East, West and Appleton Dock to help minimise the risk of quarantine risk material (QRM) entering the country.

In April 2009 the team inspected 860 timber lots, more than 240 GAS inspections, nearly 150 machines and 77 used cars. The diversity of the task means AQIS officers must be on constant lookout for QRM which takes many different forms from: debris and soils to insect infestations and plant material.  

AQIS officers, Karl Macievic and Adam Pyman proved the effectiveness of operations with a recent discovery of a partial bird's nest in a vehicle engine bay. Nests are a QRM due to the plant and residual bird material they may contain.

This vehicle, along with 457 others in the consignment, was discharged from the vessel Positive Leader at Webb Dock West. The cargo was loaded in Singapore where it had been stored on the waterfront after arriving from Italy. 

The partial nest was removed on site and destroyed with all other vehicles being closely examined. AQIS and industry depend on this level of vigilance to ensure our ports remain free of QRM.

Building expertise for AQIS and for Australia

In a passion spanning 50 years, 85 year old Australasian midge 'guru' Alan Dyce has discovered and grouped nearly 250 species of midge; a feat whose scope becomes more obvious when you understand ­that midges—popularly called sandflies'—are about the size of a pinhole.

The CSIRO Emeritus Fellow spent the first 20 years of his retirement recording information to produce a wing-picture atlas of Australasian midges. Published in 2007, the atlas is the first comprehensive look at midges in Australasia.

Working alongside Alan for the past eight years, AQIS entomologist Glenn Bellis helped assemble the information for the publication and built up his own midge credentials, knowing that Alan wanted to slow down, but also wanted to ensure his work would be carried forward.

'Alan's intention was to describe all the species groups, but in the end it became obvious that time was beating him,' says Glenn.

So that more species could be catalogued, in 2008 AQIS facilitated Glenn's secondment to a biodiversity project funded by the Australian Biological Resources Study, a section of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

'The secondment lasted for four months,' Glenn says. 'During that time four manuscripts were prepared for publication including illustrations and identification keys.

'I was also able to put together a key to species found in the Northern Territory and some threatening exotic species.' AQIS contributes information to the National Arbovirus Monitoring Program (NAMP), which monitors northern Australian regions for exotic midges, the diseases they transmit, and any southerly expansion of local species' distribution.

The key will help distinguish local from exotic and is the first key to species in the world that doesn't rely on mounting specimens on slides but uses characteristics visible under a stereo microscope, at relatively low magnification (up to 100 x).

Understanding midges is important to the health of Australia's sheep and cattle, as some species spread the virus that causes 'bluetongue'. Infection of Australia's herds with this virus would close many of our export markets to Australian animals.

Glenn has accepted the baton from Alan Dyce and has taken over as the reference entomologist for NAMP. 'Alan's shoes are big ones to fill in the midge world,' Glenn says, 'but he's passed on a lot of knowledge to me over the years and it's good to know he's still around if I need to confirm a tricky ID.'

Tip top training

In March 2009 Ms Agnes Kila, a technical officer with the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Agency (NAQIA), participated in an animal health survey of the Torres Strait and the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York Peninsula. The opportunity for joint survey activity help to deliver key capacity building outcomes came through the AusAID funded Papua New Guinea Australia Quarantine Twinning Scheme (PAQTS).

Agnes graduated from the University of Queensland's Bachelor of Applied Science (Veterinary Technology) in 2006 and enjoyed the opportunity to return and work in a unique part of Australia. A particular highlight of the survey was demonstrating just how close Australia and PNG are, with Agnes able to see her homeland only 4km away from Saibai Island.

During the survey Agnes was able to develop skills in taking and processing samples from a variety of domestic animals including goats, horses, pigs and poultry. Agnes also saw first hand the importance of well structured and organised surveys and other surveillance activities such as screw worm fly trapping. Another highlight was the importance of good public awareness and communication about animal health with community residents.

Agnes joined AQIS veterinary officer Beth Cookson and senior scientific officer Tim Kerlin on the survey. The survey takes place annually and is designed for the early detection of Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS) target animal pests and diseases. Agnes' participation is fundamental in helping build para–veterinary capacity through the transfer of knowledge and skills and improving PNG's ability to detect, monitor and control exotic pests and diseases of quarantine concern.

For more infomation on NAQS, visit the AQIS website.                      

Helping hands

Sometimes 'the devil's in the detail' and it was a detailed and specific learning experience that Valente Quintao, head of plant quarantine for Timor–Leste Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries was after when he spent a week recently with AQIS in the Northern Territory.

With Indonesia (an important trading partner with East Timor) set to require phytosanitary certificates for agricultural imports in the next few months, it was imperative that Valente get information on how to go about producing these for East Timor to comply with the changes.

Valente has a good working relationship with AQIS staff in the Darwin office, having worked previously with them on a number of projects of mutual benefit, both in East Timor and Australia, so it was here he turned for a helping hand.

AQIS officer Veronica Ahola was happy to go through the documents and the steps with Valente to help him achieve his goal.

'I showed Valente the PHYTO database, accessible to the public on the AQIS website. This contains indicative information on other countries' import requirements based on import permits that Australian exporters have obtained from other countries in order to export Australian commodities. We looked at the phytosanitary certificate template that Australia issues and discussed the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM). We also discussed the inspection and certification responsibilities of AQIS officers and the onus which AQIS places on exporters to confirm importing country requirements and provide accurate information to AQIS about export consignments,' Veronica said.

Valente also had meetings with Canberra and NT–based staff about future collaboration, training in plant pathology and insect ID and specimen data handling and discussions with AQIS entomologist, Mary Finlay–Doney, who explained the significance of a strong science-based approach for the protection and facilitation of international trade.

'We talked about the processes of inspection and decision-making and the legislation that underpins these decisions. We also covered the importance of record–keeping and data–basing,' said Mary.

Maintaining strong relationships and scientific ties with one of our closest neighbours benefits both Australia and East Timor in our fight to minimise the spread of exotic pests and diseases through the region.

Prior to this visit to Australia, Valente had put together a template for the phytosanitary certificates that East Timor will issue. The template is based on the ISPM adopted by the International Plant Protection Convention, which details the international guidelines for phytosanitary certificates. By the end of his fact–finding mission to the AQIS Darwin office, Valente had sighted the Australian phytosanitary certificate template, compared his East Timor template phytosanitary certificate to the ISPM guidelines and confirmed for himself that the template he has prepared for East Timor phytosanitary certificates meets the ISPM guidelines.

Melbourne is Australia's number one port

In its first season as a cruise vessel first port, Melbourne's Station Pier has become the centre of attention. The Melbourne public has shown an appetite for cruising with 136,000 passengers and 46,000 crew being screened by AQIS via mobile X–ray, detector dogs and direct officer intervention.

Fifty-six cruise vessels passed through the port over the summer season and eight full vessel turnarounds (passengers fully embarking then disembarking from the same port) were conducted. On average 2000 passengers disembarked off each arrival.

Although Station Pier was not originally designed as a passenger processing facility, key port stakeholders and AQIS have developed efficient passenger processing systems designed to cope with large numbers and tight timelines. Unlike airports, which impose strict baggage limits, there are no weight or size restrictions on cruise ship luggage, which creates manual handling and occupational health and safety challenges for staff from the various agencies.

Regional shipping staff have also been involved in multiple 'boardings–at–sea' at Cowes (Phillip Island) where a minimum of two staff monitor the movement of passengers onto charter boats in order to control the potential risk of quarantine risk material leaving the vessel.

This was the busiest ever season for Station Pier. AQIS officers contributed directly to Melbourne's ranking as the number one port in Australia for processing times and efficiency. AQIS also assisted the Port of Melbourne to achieve the ranking of number five port in the world for Princess Cruise Lines.

This is an outstanding achievement and demonstrates the close and mutually beneficial working relationship between AQIS and key industry stakeholders in achieving world class processing standards.

What to do with those fibreglass SIEVs

Increasingly sophisticated suspect illegal entry vessels (SIEV) containing fibreglass in their construction pose new challenges for AQIS in managing their disposal because destruction by fire is in contravention of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines.

In the past, most SIEVs have been of mainly wooden construction and have been burnt to ensure any hitch-hiking exotic species do not make it to Australian soil.

A new protocol, developed nationally, was trialled for the first time in Darwin on 14 April 2009.

After the usual pre-treatment spraying and rodent baiting protocols were completed, the vessel was brought to the approved destruction site where an AQIS entomologist and a quarantine officer determined the location and amount of timber in the vessel.

The timber was exposed through cutting and drilling so it could be fumigated effectively. A licensed fumigator then covered the vessel with a tarpaulin and fumigated with methyl bromide.

Once the fumigation was completed, the vessel was released from quarantine, broken up and disposed of in the same way as any domestic waste.

All SIEVs are of quarantine concern because they often harbour exotic species that could harm Australia's agriculture, environment and human health. Exotic mosquitoes, termites, ants, pests of stored grain and rodents are among the threats.

Crews rush to meet strict import laws

By Laura Elder, The Daily News, Galveston County, Texas

Galveston County, Texas—For 10 hours each day for three weeks, nine men have worked to painstakingly remove grease, dirt, hardened iron dust, residual flora and stowaway fauna from eight pieces of heavy railroad equipment.

They pressure clean. They steam clean. They scrub by hand. They fumigate. It’s filthy work. And if they miss a spec or a spore, the lapse could cost 'many tens of thousands of dollars'.

'It would be a disaster,' said Ross Radich, operations manager with global shipping firm Skelton Sherborne, responsible for getting the grinder to Australia.

The men, who work so meticulously at Portside Cleaning, 35th and Church streets in Galveston, are under intense pressure to sterilise the apparatus, a Loram rail grinding train, before being loaded on a chartered vessel arrives at Pier 37 to haul it to Queensland, Australia.

'It's man's work,' Radich said.

Should the rail grinder, a maintenance train used to resurface worn rails, violate Australia's rigid quarantine laws and be refused entry, Radich will have to answer to his bosses.

'The pressure's on,' Radich said.

Before Australian quarantine inspectors allow the rail grinder in, the machinery has to be as clean as new, Radich said.

'They don't say "nearly as clean as new,"' he said. 'They say "as clean as new".'

Australian's tough quarantine laws are meant to protect its flora and fauna. The island continent has for decades battled with invasive species, including red fire ants, cane toads, rabbits and a variety of fungi and parasites. In recent years, Australia has been battling citrus canker, a bacterial disease harming its orchards.

Each car of the rail grinder, made by Hamel, Minn.-based Loram Inc., is filled with electronics. The machinery is run by a crew and computers.

Track maintenance is a US$6 billion a year industry. With grinders, tracks don’t have to be taken out of commission for restoration.

Grinders, which emit sparks, can create interesting light shows at night and come equipped with water tank cars for preventing fires and hoses to fight them.

Although the rail grinder in Galveston has two water tanks, they won’t be travelling to Australia. Instead, they'll be installed there, Radich said.

The eight cars on the rail grinder will be hoisted by crane on to the ship.

'Everything has to be done perfectly,' Radich said.

Story reprinted with kind permission from The Daily News, Galveston County, Texas

www.galvnews.com

Well spotted!

The catchcry may well have been: 'ladybird, ladybird fly away home' when Darwin-based AQIS officer, Phillip Adams discovered some unusual specimens on the walls of a crate of personal effects air-freighted from the USA.

'We found about 20 lady beetles.* Most were pupating on the side of the crate,' Phillip said, ‘so they’d obviously been there for a while.'  Three recently emerged adult specimens were retrieved for identification.

With all Darwin's entomologists away in the field or interstate, the remote diagnostic microscope was put to good use. An image of the beetle was transmitted electronically to Sydney where AQIS NT entomologist, Mary Finlay–Doney and NSW-based colleague, Ben Boyd, were able to identify it as Harmonia axyridis; commonly known as the multicoloured Asian lady beetle.

Lady beetles are often used as biological controls for aphids and other nasties that affect commercial fruit production. Their voracious appetite is seen as a good thing in these circumstances but it can and has led to problems when H. axyridis has been let loose outside its native environment.

Originating in Asia, the lady beetle was released in North America and parts of Europe as a predator. Unfortunately it outcompeted native lady beetles, was shown to attack fruit for nectar when aphids and other insects were in short supply and formed dense swarms that settled inside and outside buildings, causing inconvenience and distress to householders.

Over time, it crossed European borders and entered the United Kingdom in 2004 where it was described in the press as: 'the most invasive ladybird on earth'.

Harmonia axyridis is exotic to Australia and AQIS is working hard to keep it that way.

* Lady beetle, ladybug and ladybird are all interchangable common names used to describe beetles in the family Coccinellidae.

Australian fibre in(ca) demand

Thanks to AQIS, Australian farmers are now able to export alpaca and llama fibre to Peru.

While alpacas (Vicugna pacos) and llamas (Lama glama) are traditionally found grazing in the harsh climate and high altitude regions of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile—they are also ideally suited to life on Australian farms.

AQIS was approached by the National Agricultural Sanitary Service (SENASA) in Peru as their importers want to access the quality Australian product to cover shortfalls of availability. Australian alpaca and llama fibre is regarded as superior in quality to that grown on the backs of their Peruvian cousins.

SENASA agreed for the fibre to be exported to Peru using the existing approved health certificate for the export of scoured sheep wool, as import conditions are similar. Alpaca and llama fibre is similar to sheep's wool but is warmer and softer and is used for making knitted and woven clothing, bedding, handicrafts and even carpet.

This demonstrates AQIS's commitment to working with international partners to achieve greater access to overseas export markets. After all, 2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres.

Transit GAS stopped in its tracks

Two hitch-hiking giant African snails (GAS) en route to Holland had their travel itinerary to see tulips cut short thanks to the keen eye of ISS security guard Scott Hardisty, who could have saved the country from one of the world's largest and most damaging land snails.

Scott was only half an hour into his 4 am shift at Brisbane's Qantas Bond depot at Eagle Farm when he noticed a snail on top of a wooden crate in transit that had been unpacked from an air can from Papua New Guinea only several hours earlier.

At first, he didn't pay much attention to the snail, and began his shift swabbing down items on the depot floor checking for explosive residue and any potential security breaches.

When he returned back to the area of the wooden crate and saw the snail had made good ground across the top of the crate, he stepped in for a closer look.

'The snail was bigger than normal and I thought that was a bit unusual,' Scott explained. 

'When I got closer, I saw another large snail on the back of the crate and I thought I'd better tell my supervisor.  I knew AQIS arrived everyday [at the depot] so we placed the snails into a plastic bag and kept them secure until an AQIS officer got there,' Scott said.

'My thinking was who knows where the snails will get to if I get called to do something else.'

Scott's detection also halted the possible introduction of the snail into Brisbane and Melbourne with two other consignments in the air–can headed for these destinations. 

The cargo and the surrounding area in the depot were fully inspected by AQIS officers and the snails sent to the entomology unit for formal identification and treatment. Scott received a thank you pack from AQIS and a formal letter of recognition for his efforts.

In his nine years in the security business Scott had never come across giant African snails and was unaware of how his actions helped to keep out a pest with a voracious appetite that can devastate agricultural industries and the environment.

Growing up to 30 cm in length, the giant African snail (Achatina fulica) is capable of feeding on more than 500 species of plants, including legume crops, ornamental plants, vegetables and the bark of large trees such as citrus and pawpaw.

Their main pathway for entry into a country is via shipping containers, machinery and motor vehicles and eggs carried in soil associated with imported goods. Native to Eastern Africa, it has quickly spread around the world and is established in most tropical countries.

Foreign seed interception at the Port of Melbourne

The Port of Melbourne has been managing a major incursion of seed, leaves and other plant material on new cars shipped as sea cargo in recent weeks via the German port of Bremerhaven.

Large numbers of contaminated vehicles are arriving at the port's Webb Dock, posing a quarantine risk with the potential to bring in pathogens or cause major weed outbreaks. AQIS officers stationed at Webb Dock are responsible for consignments of all break-bulk cargo which comes through the port.

AQIS Communication officer, Stephan Stewart, spoke with senior Web Dock AQIS officer, Karl Macievic about the issue and how the AQIS team are managing the situation.

Why are we getting this contamination at the moment?

The plant material is coming in on new cars shipped in vessels from a common port in Germany—Bremerhaven. From what we can tell, the seed is being picked up as the vehicles are moved through regional areas in Germany on their way to port. At the moment it's the northern spring and much of the seed could be simply released into the environment as a seasonal event. The presence of leaves and other plant debris suggests that these cars have also been stored in the open and were not cleaned prior to shipping.

Is this common?

It's not common but it has happened before. Over time people can become complacent at the port of origin and these things can get through.

What are we doing here in Melbourne about the risk?

We do routine surveillance on the vehicles. We have found most of the recent seed in wheel arches, griddles (next to the windscreen) and in the engine bays. Once we find contamination on a consignment, the level of intervention is increased to 100 per cent. On the last shipment, on board the Tarifa, we inspected 1537 vehicles and 962 of those had seed contamination.

The Webb Dock team went on to issue alerts via national office for the seed contamination. This information is then passed onto other Australian ports. Staff at subsequent ports then act on the information for any consignments unloaded at their facility. This information sharing is a key step in national surveillance work.

That's a lot of cars. Who is involved?

When we have a high level of contamination on a shipment like this most of the AQIS Webb Dock officers become involved. I found the recent contamination with Rob Duell and after that, Krishan Sharma, George Banitsiotis and Peter Booth helped cover most of the remaining vehicles.

What happens to the vehicles once the seeds are found?

The vehicles go into a facility based at Webb Dock where any quarantine risk material is removed and they are thoroughly cleaned. The facility is located on the dock itself so we don't have to move the vehicles and risk the further spread of contamination beyond the port's precinct. After the clean–up the vehicles are re-presented to AQIS officers who then check before clearing the consignment for the vehicle importers.

How long does this take?

Because such large numbers of vehicles are involved, the cars can be delayed in the cleaning process. Most importers understand the quarantine risks involved and our staff, in collaboration with AQIS program personnel in Canberra, help importers develop strategies in the countries of origin, to sort out the problem before it comes to our shores.

UN ratifies AQIS certification standard

Paperless trading for food and agricultural commodities has been made easier with the release of a new eBusiness Standard by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT).

The eCert Standard, which is based on the eCert system developed by AQIS and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, allows Governments to exchange export certificate information electronically.

eCert is an internet-based system which generates electronic export certificates for traded food and agricultural commodities. These electronic certificates are issued in place of the current paper certificates and provide assurances to importing countries concerning food safety and animal and plant health.

eCert provides an unprecedented level of certificate security as electronic certificates are securely transmitted government-to-government. This guarantees the origin of the certificate, makes it more difficult for fraudulent traders to use forged documents to clear goods, and gives import authorities a better chance of detecting fraudulent consignments.

The release of the eCert Standard is a major achievement for AQIS which has been working towards ratification since 2005. AQIS has used eCert for almost a decade and has participated in trials with numerous trading partners, some of which have led to full implementation.

The standard will allow widespread uptake of electronic trading, which will benefit governments through increased security and prior notice of imports, and traders through reduced costs of paperwork and certification.

Hidden treasure

Precious stones worth thousands of dollars were uncovered in Adelaide by AQIS when an ill–fated importer attempted to smuggle a batch of gems into Australia by concealing them inside a traditional African carving.

­The exceptionally rare jewels were uncovered by AQIS officer Rene Hilditch during routine inspection of air–cargo consignments in Adelaide.

Rene was inspecting a wooden artefact, which appeared to be carved from a solid piece of timber, when he became suspicious as to why someone would want to air–freight a small carving all the way from Africa.

Closer inspection of the carving revealed what looked like insect entry holes, soil and other unidentifiable material. The importer was asked to attend the AQIS inspection facility to discuss treatment options to ensure the carving did not introduce quarantine pests or disease.

The importer appeared to be very nervous when told a quarantine treatment would be required before she could take possession of the carving. Concerned the treatment would damage the concealed stones the importer advised that the carving was indeed hollow and contained tanzanite stones. Tanzanite is very rare and can only be found in one place in the world—Africa's Rift Valley, 40 kilometres from the base of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro.

The matter was referred to Customs who deconstructed the carving revealing 17 tanzanite stones valued at $14,000. Customs imposed a revenue penalty on the importer for making a false declaration.

The wooden carving was forfeited to AQIS by the importer and after being treated will make an interesting display piece in the Adelaide office—demonstrating that diamonds (or in this case tanzanite) are not always a girl's best friend.


 

 



Last reviewed: 16 Nov 2009
Contact:
Email AQIS
About AQIS and Contact details
Media Inquiries