invasive species

The surveillance is to determine the extent of invasion of the coconut rhinoceros beetle that was first found on 20 May,2019.

Biosecurity Vanuatu confirmed that the coconut rhinoceros beetle is a pest of coconut and palm trees.

It is native to western Europe and Scandinavia but has spread into Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands.

In the Pacific region, the coconut rhinoceros beetle is known to occur in American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Wallis & Futuna.

There are two recognised strains of CRB: CRB-S type and CRB- G type.

Guam entomologist Aubrey Moore has been travelling the globe searching for a viral control agent to deal with what's referred to as the CRBG, a particular beetle bio-type that has proven immune to previous viruses that were introduced.

Dr Moore said over half of Guam's coconut tree population was under threat from the CRBG, as were other populations across the region.

"This is a Pacific-wide problem. It's a big problem in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and other places," he said.

This comes after the importation of avocado trees from New Zealand and Australia seven years ago was believed to be the source of the destructive black twig borer now present in the country.

Minister Kiriau Turepu said both the ministry and private individuals had brought in the plants but he said it was a problem he had only been made aware of in the past two weeks.

Mr Turepu said the problem in the Cook Islands was the lack of a post quarantine facility to ensure the plants were disease free.

But he said he expected this to change quickly.

"Eradications are expensive, but once complete, you don't have to worry about that pest species as long as you prevent new introductions," said Mr Richard Griffiths from the agency Island Conservation.

There have been more than 500 successful eradications around the world, some described at the PILN2016 conference last week.