Federal and state agriculture officials recently removed several fruit fly quarantines in Texas and California.
TEXAS
On July 16, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Sullivan City, Hidalgo County. This action releases 68 square miles from quarantine. There was no commercial agriculture in the quarantine area.
On July 20, APHIS and TDA removed the Mexfly quarantine in Brownsville, Cameron County. This action releases 99 square miles including 112 acres of commercial citrus from quarantine.
On July 22, APHIS and TDA removed the Mexfly quarantine in La Rosita, Hidalgo County. This action releases 48 square miles from quarantine. There was no commercial agriculture in the quarantine area.
APHIS restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from these areas and worked with TDA to eradicate these transient Mexfly populations.
CALIFORNIA
On July 26, USDA APHIS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) removed the Mediterranean fruit fly quarantine in Leimert Park, Los Angeles County. This action releases 158 square miles from quarantine. There was no commercial agriculture in the quarantine area.
On July 29, APHIS and CDFA removed the Queensland fruit fly quarantine in Thousand Oaks, Ventura County. This action released 90 square miles including 3,379 acres of commercial agriculture from quarantine. Release from quarantine occurred after three generations elapsed since the date of the last detection in each area.
APHIS restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from these areas and worked cooperatively with the CDFA and the Los Angeles and Ventura County agricultural commissioners to eradicate these transient pest populations.
The Texas and California quarantine actions are reflected on the APHIS exotic fruit flies website, which contains a description of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas.
Source: USDA APHIS
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