One of the north coast’s largest beekeepers, Clarenza based Bee Services owner Steve Fuller says transitioning from eradicating Varroa mite to managing the problem was the best solution for the industry, but the full impact of the insect might not be known for two or three years.

The National Management Group NMG driving the Varroa mite program across Australia met last Wednesday and decided to transition its approach to addressing this biosecurity issue confronting the nation’s beekeepers and pollination industry.

After considering the latest scientific data and advice, governments and industry organisations have unanimously decided to move from an eradication program to a management approach.

The Varroa mite, which had been kept out of Australia until last year, weakens bees, shortens their lives, or causes death from viral infections that otherwise would cause little harm and can lead to the death of entire hives.

Mr Fuller, the Australian Pollinators Association President and President of the North Coast branch of the NSW Apiarists Association said prior to moving to managing the spread of the mite, the industry was being mismanaged, which was evident by 15 months of unsuccessful eradication attempts in the Newcastle area.

“We are finding more and more infected properties pop up around the state so it’s growing, it’s getting out of hand, and the only solution I could see was going to management,” he said.

In the first round of eradication, Mr Fuller said he lost 300 hives, followed by another 300-400 hives due to mismanagement as he was not permitted to manage his hives due to the Emergency Order.

“In the 16 months since Varroa was first detected, all up with honey, pollination and extra costs, we believe conservatively we’ve lost $1 million dollars,” he said.

If the eradication program continued, Mr Fuller said he had 2000 hives in a staging area at Station Creek that were earmarked to be euthanised, with another 35,000 hives around the state also earmarked for euthanising.

“The number of businesses that are struggling is a massive problem for the industry at the moment, we’ve got Covid all over again, but now we call it Varroa,” he said.

Mr Fuller said Bee Services employs 25 people and had to put on additional staff to handle the paperwork required with the emergency order as there is a lot of additional work due to Varroa.

He said the move to managing the mite will improve the industry.

“If you don’t manage your hives right, this is going to take its toll, so this is going to make better Australian beekeepers, because if they don’t do their job right, they’re going to lose their hives,” he said.

The beekeeping industry is facing unprecedented times, Mr Fuller said.

“We are in a real uncertain time now for the next two or three years, because we don’t know how the Varroa mite is going to react to Australian conditions and geographics, because at the moment we don’t have any of the really bad viruses associated with Varroa in Australia,” he said.

At this stage, Mr Fuller said the government have not announced any compensation for those in the industry who have lost their hives, but MP Nationals MP’s Dugald Saunders and Micheal Kemp were calling for compensation.

“Most people realised that we have to provide some form of compensation to those that have lost everything,” he said.

For beekeepers who had to euthanise all their hives, Mr Fuller said it would take at least 12 months before they are producing honey again.

Despite the comprehensive $101 million spend and effort to eradicate the mite, the transition from an ‘eradication’ program to a ‘management’ program was concluded because of the many factors working against a possible eradication in Australia.

The NMG considered the following factors for why eradication has not reached its desired objectives.

• Non-compliance by some bee industry actors with the NSW Movement Orders and the mandatory hive testing (alcohol washes), and evidence of illegal movement of bees resulting in further spread of the varroa mite.
• The recent spike in new detections, have made it clear that the Varroa mite infestation is more widespread and has also been present for longer than first thought.
• The increase in new detections and generation of a control area greater than 16,000 km2, has stretched the eradication team’s responses to their technical limit.

NSW Agriculture Minister, Tara Moriarty said the NSW Government will work with all the national players and reallocate resources to slowing the spread of the pest and providing management options to help minimising its impact.

“The priority now is for the NSW Department of Primary Industries to communicate with all the stakeholders of the beekeeper and pollination sectors and advise them what the change in program means for their industry,” she said.

Australian Honey Bee Industry Council AHBIC CEO, Danny Le Feuvre thanked all the beekeepers for their cooperation throughout the response, especially those who have felt the emotional and financial impacts of this response.

“There is still lots industry can do to contain and slow the spread of Varroa mite, which is why NSW will operate under an interim management strategy until the National Management Plan for Transition to Management is agreed upon,” he said.

“At the same time, AHBIC will continue to work with NMG to ensure any support measures offered to beekeepers are fit for purpose.” 

This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 27 September 2023.