“However, if our officers ultimately determine a ship is infested with stink bug it will be prevented from discharging its cargo and directed to leave NZ.
“We have also introduced a very low threshold for determining contamination.
“If we find a single bug we will thoroughly investigate whether the entire vessel is contaminated.
“As with previous stink bug seasons there will also be increased surveillance and inspection of arriving vessels and cargo from countries with established stink bug populations.
“This is about ensuring the dangerous pest does not get a chance to establish in NZ,” Gilbert said.
Biosecurity rules have changed for this season, making it compulsory for certain types of cargo to be treated before arrival to remove the risk of hitchhiking stink bugs.
“As a result, Biosecurity NZ requires cargo such as uncontainerised vehicles and machinery to be assessed as compliant before we allow discharge from the vessel.
“We will also no longer direct contaminated vessels to undergo fogging with insecticide in NZ.”
Fogging was introduced as an emergency treatment option in February following a spike in stink bug detections in vehicle carriers from Japan.
The risk season runs from September to April, when stink bugs from the northern hemisphere are most likely to crawl into cargo heading to NZ.
Last season, biosecurity officers intercepted more than 2500 individual stink bugs at the border, mainly on vessels and cargo.
