APHIS Removes the Oriental Fruit Fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) Quarantine in Sacramento County, California

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2024-20
June 12, 2024

Subject: APHIS Removes the Oriental Fruit Fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) Quarantine in Sacramento County, California

To: State, Territory, and Tribal Agricultural Regulatory Officials

On May 31, 2024, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) removed the Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis; OFF) quarantine in Sacramento County, California, after three OFF life cycles elapsed with no additional detections in this area. This action releases the 106 square miles of the Sacramento County quarantine, which contained no commercial agriculture.

On September 22, 2023, APHIS and CDFA established an OFF quarantine in Sacramento County following the confirmed detections of eight adult male OFF from various sites in the cities of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova by CDFA between September 12 and September 17, 2023. CDFA confirmed one additional male OFF from Rancho Cordova on September 19 and one unmated female OFF from Sacramento on September 20. APHIS restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area to prevent the spread of OFF to non-infested areas of the United States and has worked cooperatively with CDFA and the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner to eradicate this transient OFF population through various control actions per program protocols. APHIS and CFDA selected the quarantine release date based on a degree-day model from the date of the last detection.

The removal of this quarantine area is reflected on the APHIS exotic fruit flies website, which contains a description of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

For additional information on the OFF quarantine area, please contact:

Richard Johnson
National Policy Manager
(301) 851-2109
richard.n.johnson@usda.gov

Avraham Eitam
Assistant National Policy Manager
(614) 205-4565
avraham.eitam@usda.gov

/s/

Dr. Mark L Davidson
Deputy Administrator
Plant Protection and Quarantine