Country: United States

Title:

Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Expands Quarantine Area in California

Contact:
Catherine Marzolf, National Policy Manager, 386-666-9932 or catherine.a.marzolf@usda.gov and Avraham Eitam, Assistant National Policy Manager, 614-205-4565, avraham.eitam@usda.gov

Report:

On December 5 and again on December 12, 2024, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) expanded the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata; Medfly) quarantine area in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, designated the Fremont quarantine.

CDFA and APHIS expanded the Fremont quarantine in response to the confirmed detection on November 22 of a wild mated female Medfly from a trap in a fruit tree in a residential area, and then again on November 27 following the confirmed detection of a wild unmated female Medfly also from a trap in a fruit tree in a residential area. APHIS and CDFA established the quarantine on September 6, following the detection of a mated wild female Medfly in the city of Fremont in Alameda County on August 28, from a trap in an orange tree in a residential area, and expanded the quarantine on September 11, October 17, October 23, October 30, and November 8 following the detections of additional flies. As the result of the November 22 detection, the quarantine area increased by 74 square miles to 212 square miles. The November 27 detection resulted in the quarantine area increasing by one square mile to 213 square miles. These new expansions do not add commercial acreage. There are 49 acres of commercial agriculture, including avocado, eggplant, olive, pepper, tomato, and wine grape, in the quarantine area. APHIS and CDFA are correcting the acreage of commercial agriculture previously reported for the Fremont quarantine; the actual acreage is reduced by five acres to 49 acres.

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent the spread of fruit flies to non-infested areas of the United States, as well as to prevent the entry of these fruit flies into foreign trade. APHIS is working with CDFA and the Agricultural Commissioners of Alameda and Santa Clara Counties to respond to these detections following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.

The APHIS exotic fruit flies website contains descriptions and maps of the expanded quarantine area, as well as all current Federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of these changes in the Federal Register.

Under IPPC standards, Ceratitis capitata is a transient pest under eradication that is present only in one area in California. This species is not widely distributed and is under official control in the United States

Posted Date: Jan. 7, 2025, 4:08 p.m.