Multiple reports from Hawaii Public Radio cover the state Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s consideration of interim rules to restrict live potted plant imports to Maui and Lānaʻi following recent coconut rhinoceros beetle detections. The board declined to enact emergency rules immediately but said it could vote on interim restrictions at its meeting next month. The petition was spearheaded by the Lahaina Community Land Trust in response to several separate beetle discoveries on the islands.
- The state Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity is weighing interim rules to stop the import of live, potted plants to Maui and Lānaʻi to prevent CRB from becoming established there.
- The proposed restrictions would exclude cut flowers, edible plant products, and preserved plant material.
- The board denied the petition’s request for immediate emergency rules, but said it could vote on interim rules at its next monthly meeting.
- Three dead CRB individuals were found in traps in Waikapū, Central Maui, on June 4, with two more found in traps shortly after; a single beetle was found near Kahului Airport in April.
- In May, a beetle was found in a potted plant shipped to Lānaʻi, suggesting the import pathway as a key vector.
- CRB is already considered infested on Oʻahu and has been spreading on Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island, while Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi have remained relatively free of the pest.
- State entomologist Chris Kishimoto said the situation does not yet meet the threshold for emergency rulemaking, noting CRB has been present in Hawaii for over a dozen years.
- Autumn Ness, executive director of the Lahaina Community Land Trust, expressed disappointment that emergency rules were denied while welcoming the prospect of interim rules going to a vote.
Sources
- Hawaii Public Radio: Community-led petition calls for import restrictions on Maui and Lānaʻi to curb the spread of CRB
- Hawaii Public Radio: Community-led petition calls for import restrictions on Maui and Lānaʻi to curb the spread of CRB
Share this article
