CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY

Transcription

1 CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY SERVING THE CARIBBEAN SINCE 1963 CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY 41 Forty First Annual Meeting 2005 GUADELOUPE Vol. XXXXI - Number 1 T-STAR - Invasive Species Symposium

2 Proceedings of the Caribbean Food Crops Society. 41(l): SESSION II: TECHNICAL ISSUES A SYNOPSIS OF THE USDA APHIS CARIBBEAN INVASIVE SPECIES STRATEGIC PLAN Trang T. Vo 1, Carolyn T. Cohen 2, and C. Ed Miller 3. 1 Policy and Program Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 4700 River Road, Unit 20, Riverdale, Maryland, Phone: ; Fax: TRANG. T. VO'a l/sda. GO V. 2 Caribbean Area Director, USDA-APHIS, International Services, Central America & Caribbean Region, American Embassy, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Unit 5527, APO AA 34041; Carolyn, t. cohen(a),aphis. usda. gov. 3 Pest Risk Mitigation Specialist, 7939 Devilbiss Bridge Rd., Frederick MD, USA Phone: ; charles. e.miller,adelphia. net. ABSTRACT: Since exclusion at the port of entry is no longer adequate to protect U.S.A. plant resources, increased emphasis is being given to mitigating pest risk at the point of origin of items imported into the U.S.A., i.e. off-shore. In each of recent years the Caribbean Area Office has received an allocation US$ 100,000 from the appropriation to APHIS for pest detection. These funds will be used to support seven priority thrusts: (1) cooperative tracking in the Caribbean Region of pests of quarantine significance using the Off-shore Pest Information System (OPIS), (2) surveillance and biological control of exotic tropical fruit flies, (3) cooperative surveys for the giant African snail, TTAchatina fulica TTBowdich and other dangerous mollusks in the Region, (4) Scirtothrips dorsalis surveillance and mitigation, (5) biological control against the pigeon pea pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa (Malloch), passionvine mealybug, Planococcus minor (Maskell), and the coffee mealybug, Planococcus lilacinus (Cockerell), (6) provide technical expertise to investigate potential emergent pest problems and provide digital imaging equipment to Caribbean quarantine authorities, and (7) assist in the training of plant protection officers in plant quarantine, in the development of manuals for port of entry inspectors, and updating plant health legislation. KEY WORDS: off-shore, point of origin, Offshore Pest Information System, OPIS, Anastrepha fruit flies, giant African snail, Scirtothrips dorsalis, biological control, emerging pests, infrastructure building INTRODUCTION The Greater Caribbean Basin 9 is of great importance to the United States both in terms of trade and tourism. Globalization of trade and international movement of people within the region have increased the risk of spread of invasive pest species into the United States. APHIS has traditionally relied on inspection of arriving cargo and passengers at the port of entry as a primary means of excluding exotic pests. In light of the large volume of arriving cargo and people from the region each year, exclusion at the port of entry is no longer adequate to protect U.S. plant resources. This shift in strategy, as recommended in APHIS' Plant Health Safeguarding Review, calls for increased focus on managing pest risk at the point of origin, i.e., 9 The Greater Caribbean Basin is composed of the Caribbean Islands, Central America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname. 54

3 off-shore. This paper identifies on-going and planned pest management efforts by APHIS/IS in the Caribbean to reduce the risk of exotic pest introductions in the United States. A major initiative to address emerging off-shore pest issues is the placement of additional Foreign Service specialists overseas with the primary task of gathering international pest information. These safeguarding officers, called Animal and Plant Health Specialists, will work collaboratively with local scientists to develop appropriate methods for surveying targeted pests. The information collected will be submitted to a central data base maintained by PPQ as part of the process to collect, synthesize and analyze, and utilize offshore pest information known as the Offshore Pest Information System (OPIS). APHIS' invasive species activities in the Caribbean have centered on surveillance, control, and technical assistance. For the past two years, the IS Caribbean Area office operated on a budget of approximately $100,000 per year from the Pest Detection line item. Seven priority action areas have been identified for the Caribbean region. A number of the activities are pending supplemental funding, and are noted with an asterisk!*}. 1. OPIS Pests for the Caribbean. One of the priorities of the Caribbean Area Office is the monitoring of the pests identified by OPIS for the region. The Area Office will work with the Caribbean nations and territories to track pest occurrence, population levels and distribution on each island. 2. Caribbean Area Exotic Fruit Fly Project. The OPIS targeted pest list for the Caribbean region includes five species of Anastrepha fruit flies (A. fraterculus, A. obliqua, A. serpentina, A. striata and A. suspenso) plus the Medfly. A. suspensa is found in the Greater Antilles 10, A. obliqua is widely distributed throughout the Caribbean, and the other species have limited distribution in the Greater Caribbean. In addition to the OPIS-identified pests, Bactrocera carambolae which occurs in northern South America poses a long-term threat to the Caribbean and the United States. For species that are not widely distributed, enhanced exclusion efforts are needed to reduce the likelihood of infestation from neighboring islands. To decrease the threat of an introduction in the United States, a concerted effort is needed to control A. obliqua on an areawide basis. The following actions are needed to meet these objectives. Continue providing traps and lure for all islands participating in fruit fly surveys. *This will include the introduction of new multilure traps which have been found to be more effective than McPhail traps in catching a wide number of different Anastrepha species. Implement a classical biocontrol program for A. obliqua on * 3 to 4 islands in the Lesser Antilles 10. This will be a cooperative program where APHIS would supply the parasites and technical expertise. The program has a high probability of reducing the pest population by 40 to 80% which will decrease the risk to the United States from these islands by about 50% u. *If successful, the program could be implemented on other infested islands. 3. Giant African Snail Project. The Giant African Snail (GAS) has been introduced into five Caribbean islands. Recent APHIS surveys have detected the presence of other serious mollusk 10 The Lesser Antilles include the British Virgin Islands, U. S. Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. 11 Vo, T., W. Enkerlin, C.E. Miller, G. Ortiz, and J. Perez "Economic Analysis of the Suppression/Eradication of the Mediterranean Fruit fly and Other Fruit Flies in Central America and Panama." Policy and Program Development, APHIS, USDA, Riverdale, MD, May

4 pests as well. There is an immediate need for further molluscan surveys in the Caribbean Basin as many of the islands where surveys have yet to be conducted engage in regular commerce or share tourist traffic with GAS and other mollusk pest-infested islands. Conduct surveys in additional islands and countries. Distribute the PPQ mollusk identification manual to each country's primary identifier/office. * Coordinate with the governments of France, the Netherlands, and Britain for future surveys in their respective territories (French islands of St. Barts, St. Martin; Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten; British islands of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat). 4. Scirtothrips dorsalis Project The proximity of the newly S. dorsalis-infested islands to the United States and the recent interception in Florida of the pest on cargo from infested islands necessitates that certain actions be mobilized immediately. Support the development of inspection, detection, and control procedures and methodology for the Caribbean islands and U.S. ports of entry. *Identify natural enemies currently available and work with ARS to initiate a foreign exploration program to identify potential natural enemies. Assist infested Caribbean islands with eradication/control activities including technical visits to determine potential for insectaries. 5. Biological Control Project. The success of the biological control technique against mealybugs is ample justification for its continuing support and fostering the development of the technology for other pests. In addition to maintaining support for the control of Pink Hibiscus and Papaya mealybugs, other pests that have been identified as serious threats to the United States and warrant attention are listed below. Support additional host studies for the Pigeon Pea Pod fly. *If parasite tests are successful, implement a biological control program on infested islands. *Develop biological control programs for two mealybugs that occur in the Caribbean, Planococcus minor and P. lilacinus. These exotic species have been identified by ARS as serious threats to the United States and are likely to become established if introduced. Field studies for parasites are needed. 6. Emerging Pests. The Caribbean Area Office will continue work to identify early detections of new pests to this region that may pose a threat to U.S. agriculture. This will allow APHIS to quickly respond to introductions while populations are low enough for eradication to be considered. *Provide Digital Imaging System equipment to Caribbean quarantine authorities. In several countries, resources are inadequate to screen for and identify intercepted pests. With the aid of this equipment, APHIS specialists will be able to engage in the identification of pests by longdistance while helping to develop local expertise. 56

5 Provide funding as needed to support visits by technical experts to evaluate emerging pest situations and advise APHIS and Caribbean countries on appropriate actions. 7. Infrastructure Building - Agricultural Quarantine. APHIS visits to Caribbean ports of entry, and collateral interviews with host government personnel have highlighted weaknesses in their quarantine protocols. Lack of training critically impairs the island nations' ability to adequately address pest issues. - Encourage regional coordination in exclusion activities by supporting attendance of APHIS at the new Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) meetings. -*Work with the CAHFSA or another organization to develop a grant proposal from WTO for the development and delivery of three workshops (one each in English, Spanish, and French) for training plant protection officers and supervisors in plant quarantine activities Work with Caribbean countries to update their plant health legislation and prepare manuals for use by port of entry (POE) inspectors. * Support visits by APHIS experts to evaluate current procedures and manuals. REFERENCES National Plant Board Safeguarding American plant resources. A stakeholder review of the APHIS-PPQ Safeguarding System. APHIS, USD A, Wash. D.C. 133 pp., plus appendices. Vo, T. T., C. T. Cohen, and C. E. Miller Caribbean Invasive Species Strategic Plan. USD A, APHIS, Riverdale, MD, USA. 19 p. 57