Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan, 2010

ANIMAL / PLANT DISEASE AND PESTSOverviewHazardLikelihood (C)HazardConsequence (2)How do wemanage this risk?What moreshould we bedoing?What is thefuture risk?Animal and plant diseases and pests pose a number of threats to New Zealand as theycan lead to a reduction in primary economic productivity, an increase in pest controlcost and exposure for animal handlers. Northland is particularly vulnerable becauseof its dependence on agriculture.Animal diseases include foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), bovine encephalitis andother encephalopathies such as scarpie in sheep. An outbreak of any of thesediseases would require a whole of government response supported by CDEM Groups.Examples of introduced plant and insect diseases and pests affecting Northland are: Tropical grass webworm, found in the Far North, which can devastate pastoralland Guava moth which infests a wide variety of fruit all year round Argentine ants, found in most locations around Northland, can form supercoloniesof immense size and threaten the region’s environment, economy andlifestyle. Kauri dieback threatens a major Kiwi icon. The tomato psyllid is a major threat to tomato and potato growers.Aquatic pests are a threat to Northlands aquaculture industry and to Northlandslakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters. Aquatic pests and diseases are verydifficult to treat or eradicate as they are usually widespread before they are detected.Ballast water and boat hauls are a common method of spread. Some aquatic pestsaffecting Northland are: The Asian Paddle Crab has the potential to compete with native crabs for spaceand food, including the commercially fished native paddle crab, and transmitdisease. The marine sea squirt Styela Clava detected in three harbours could impactaquaculture through fouling behaviour and can also cause asthmatic conditionsin oyster workers exposed to Styela when shucking oysters.Very little data to make an assessment.Social: Social disruption (“panic”/media role). Risk communication issues also overthe method of eradication (e.g. aerial spray of insecticides).Economic: Export markets closed. Increase in unemployment. If total eradication ofthe pest can’t be achieved then some sectors may never recover. Loss of ruralcommunity fabric due to devastation of rural economy.Built: Demands on water for decontamination and cleaning; demands on municipallandfill or for mass burial sites for disposal of carcasses.Natural Environment: Environmental and cultural damage - particularly ifindigenous species/ecologies affected.Risk is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry through import healthstandards and stringent border control. Risk assessments are reviewed with othercentral government biosecurity agencies including the Ministry of Health,Department of Conservation and Ministry for the Environment.There is limited integration with other agencies. One improvement could be forNorthland to join the national biosecurity strategy.If temperature rises another 5 degrees then the salt marsh mosquito in the far northwill be able to infect the population with malaria (huge implications for tourism).Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan, 2010-2015 Page 86