APHIS Establishes Mediterranean Fruit Fly and Queensland Fruit Fly Quarantines in California

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2023-21
November 6, 2023

Subject: APHIS Establishes Mediterranean Fruit Fly and Queensland Fruit Fly Quarantines in California

To: State, Territory, and Tribal Agricultural Regulatory Officials

On October 18, 2023, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) established a Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata or Medfly) quarantine in Los Angeles County, and on October 19, established a Queensland Fruit Fly (Bactrocera tryoni; QFF) quarantine in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in California.

The establishment of the Medfly quarantine is in response to the confirmed detection of two adult male Medfly in the Leimert Park area by CDFA on September 27, 2023, from a trap in a persimmon tree in a residential area. In cooperation with CDFA, APHIS is establishing a quarantine area, which encompasses approximately 69 square miles of Los Angeles County. There is no commercial agriculture in the quarantine area.

The establishment of the QFF quarantine is in response to the confirmed detections of two adult male QFF from sites in the city of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County by CDFA on August 23 and October 9, 2023, from traps in lemon trees in residential areas. In cooperation with CDFA, APHIS is establishing a quarantine area, which encompasses approximately 76 square miles of Ventura County and adjacent Los Angeles County. There are approximately 2,668 acres of commercial citrus, avocado and stone fruits in the quarantine area. This is the first ever quarantine for QFF in the United States.

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement or entry into foreign trade of regulated articles from the areas to prevent the spread of Medfly and QFF to non-infested areas of the United States. APHIS is working with CDFA and the Agricultural Commissioners of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties to respond to these detections following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.

The establishment of these quarantine areas is reflected on the APHIS fruit fly website, which contains a description of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of these changes in the Federal Register.

For additional information on the quarantine areas, please contact Fruit Fly National Policy Manager Richard Johnson at 301-851-2109 or richard.n.johnson@usda.gov.

/s/

Dr. Mark L Davidson
Deputy Administrator
Plant Protection and Quarantine