Economics of Surveillance: a Bioeconomic Assessment of Queensland Fruit Fly

Regional management of endemic pests of trade significance typically requires a surveillance system, border controls, eradication protocols and conditions for market closure and reopening. An example is the systems for managing Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) in south east Australia where the preferred approach for intensive production areas is an Area Wide Management (AWM) scheme. An AWM, such as the Greater Sunraysia PFA (GSPFA) in northern Victoria and western New South Wales, depends for its recognition amongst trade partners on an effective and credible surveillance system that identifies outbreaks rapidly, notifies exporters of trade restrictions and initiates eradication. These ‘market rules’ are fundamental to the economics of surveillance: they define an outbreak and thus the probability of market closure, the expected time to eradication, and consequent time to market reopening. This paper uses a spatial and dynamic bioeconomic model of Qfly infestation and spread to determine the expected optimal investment in surveillance and eradication capacity of the AWM.