'All my hives will be eradicated': Beekeeper heartbreak as NSW imposes emergency biosecurity measures

New South Wales beekeepers and industry groups say emergency measures imposed to stop the spread of a deadly parasite will devastate the industry and have potentially significant knock-on effects on honey production and agriculture.

Key points:

Bee movement across NSW has come to a halt following the detection of a deadly parasite in the Port of Newcastle

The government has also ordered all hives within a 10-kilometre radius of the port to be destroyed

The measures are set to devastate beekeepers across the state, as well as almond farms ahead of pollination

The Varroa destructor, commonly called varroa mite, spreads viruses that cripple bees' ability to fly, gather food and pollinate crops.

It was first detected on Wednesday in two of the six hives used to monitor biosecurity at the Port of Newcastle during a routine inspection.

It was also discovered in the hives of a nearby commercial beekeeper.

The detections have triggered a halt on all movement of bees across New South Wales, hives within a 10-kilometre radius of the Port will also be destroyed.

"I'm in that zone," said David Vial, an apiarist at Williamtown who is also Amateur Beekeepers' Association vice-president.

"I've got about 150 beehives on my property at Williamtown and by the looks of it all my hives will be eradicated," he said.

"I have a queen bee breeding program which is going to be terminated straight away."

Mr Vial said the financial impact would be huge for his business.

"I'm probably looking at, over the next couple of years, maybe a quarter of million dollars in lost sales," he said.

"And not only that but lots of the genetics that I've been breeding as well, that will be lost; I've got to start from scratch again."

Measures vital for control

New South Wales Farmers Association president James Jackson said he welcomed the emergency measures put in place.

"With these sorts of situations, regardless of the species or the issue, humans moving animals or plants around the state is a big risk to disseminating or increasing the size of the problem," he said.

"So, eradication becomes significantly harder if it's all over the place."

Mr Jackson said while the measures were necessary, he agreed they would have a big impact on apiarists and beyond.

"The impact of this if it gets away is about $70 million to the actual honey industry," he said.

"And then it's going to impact the pollination industry, the almond industry and other horticulture crops are reliant on pollination so that the impact could be quite a lot greater."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-06-27/beekeepers-suffer-multi-million-dollar-set-back-deadly-parasite/101185494