THE highly destructive white spot virus has again been detected in supermarket prawns despite the tightened import restrictions introduced after a disease outbreak decimated south-east Queensland’s prawn farming industry.
According to an article on the ABC website, the shock results come as a Four Corners investigation reveals some seafood importers have been deliberately evading Australia’s biosecurity defences in a hunt for profit.
The revelations raise questions about the nature of Australia’s preparedness to combat a slew of exotic diseases and pests that have the potential to wreak carnage on the economy.
Brian Jones, former adviser to the Inspector-General of Biosecurity, said the incursion of white spot disease in 2016 showed that “the Government is not fulfilling its duty to protect the border” and that this was a “major failure of Australia’s biosecurity”
In the face of soaring international trade, scientists, industry executives and former government officials have told Four Corners that Australia’s biosecurity defences have been simply inadequate.
You can read the full article HERE.
