HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            69
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D.1 
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO DEVELOP AND
    IMPLEMENT A FRUIT FLY FREE ZONE FOR ELIMINATING THE
    QUARANTINE BARRIER IMPOSED BY THE FOUR SPECIES OF FRUIT
    FLIES FOUND IN HAWAII.


 1        WHEREAS, fruit fly studies and control efforts have been
 2   conducted in Hawaii since the early 1900's since the detection
 3   of the melon fly in 1895, Mediterranean fruit fly in 1910,
 4   oriental fruit fly in 1945, and the solanaceous fruit fly in
 5   1983; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, all four fruit fly species are well-entrenched in
 8   the islands, causing serious direct injury to fruit and
 9   vegetable crops as well as economic damage to Hawaiian
10   agriculture due to the quarantine restrictions placed on the
11   movement of Hawaii's crops to overseas markets; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, the introduction of natural enemies of the fruit
14   flies from 1913 to 1951 have resulted in suppressing fruit fly
15   populations in the field to manageable levels, but has not
16   addressed the quarantine barrier issue; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, there are currently three primary ways of
19   addressing the quarantine barrier issue:
20   
21        (1)  Eradication:  destroy every fruit fly individual of
22             all four species on all islands;
23   
24        (2)  Fruit fly free zones:  create islandwide areas or
25             district zones in Hawaii that are continuously kept
26             free of all fruit flies; or
27   
28        (3)  Post-harvest treatments:  disinfest fruits of all
29             fruit fly eggs and larvae prior to export;
30   
31   and
32   
33        WHEREAS, using the estimate that the eradication of the
34   Mediterranean fruit fly from Hawaii would cost $280,000,000, it
35   is estimated that over $1,000,000,000 would be needed to

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            69
                                                        H.D.1
                                                        

 
 1   eradicate all four species of fruit flies from our islands,
 2   excluding the environmental costs of the project as well as the
 3   additional costs to prevent the flies from becoming
 4   reestablished; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, research on developing post-harvest commodity
 7   treatment measures, using fumigants, thermal treatments, and
 8   ionizing irradiation, has been conducted by the United States
 9   Department of Agriculture and University of Hawaii researchers
10   for years with mixed results; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, fruit fly eradication would not be a cost-
13   effective method and various post-harvest treatment methods are
14   being tested on different commodities; and
15   
16        WHEREAS, the only method that has not yet been implemented
17   is that of the establishment of a fruit fly free zone; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, the development of Hawaii's agriculture in
20   overseas markets continues to be stifled by the presence of
21   fruit flies because of the federal quarantine that limits the
22   export of many other fruit crops that are or could be grown in
23   Hawaii; now, therefore,
24   
25        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
26   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
27   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of
28   Agriculture, in cooperation with other federal and state
29   agencies and private organizations, is requested to implement a
30   fruit fly free zone, beginning with a pilot project in Puna,
31   Hawaii, to determine whether this is an effective way to
32   address quarantine barriers and to keep designated areas free
33   of fruit flies; and
34   
35        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture
36   is requested to submit a progress report to the Legislature not
37   less than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
38   Session of 2000, and a final report twenty days prior to the
39   convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
40   
41        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
42   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
43   Board of Agriculture, the Dean of the College of Tropical
44   Agriculture and Human Resources of the University of Hawaii,
45   the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural
46   Research Service, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, and the
47   Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.