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HDOA updates board on coconut rhinoceros beetle finds near Kona Airport; islandwide response and bills under consideration
Summary
Hawaii Department of Agriculture staff reported recent coconut rhinoceros beetle detections near Kona Airport, ongoing trapping and treatments, identified potential breeding sites, and noted related legislative measures under consideration to fund response and strengthen biosecurity.
Jonathan Hill, Plant Quarantine Branch manager for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, told the State of Hawaii Board of Agriculture the department is responding to coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) detections centered around the Kona Airport area.
Hill reported about 11 CRB beetles have been detected around Kona Airport since March and said staff, in coordination with the Plant Pest Control Branch, Pesticides Branch, the Department of Health Vector Control Branch and county crews, have increased trapping, conducted weekly trap surveys and carried out crown sprays and systemic injections to treat affected palm hosts. Hill said teams had identified roughly 30 suspected breeding sites but that no CRB larvae (grubs) had yet been found, and that surveys indicated the detections appear localized rather than long-standing.
Response efforts described to the board include increased traps, dog-assisted surveys, county-provided labor and equipment for crown spraying and tree injections, and targeted removal or treatment of host palms where appropriate. In Kona Hiki, Hill said local crews plan to treat about 1,600 trees; DLNR will treat about 60 acres of adjacent forest by drone. Hill also reported a large infestation in Kahuku affecting potentially hundreds of properties, and additional delimited sites in Kaneohe and Kailua that will be referred to private contractors (PCOs) once delimitation is complete.
Hill described broader, state-level steps: airport treatments have been started on Maui and Kauai and some parks on Oahu; several contracted residential treatments have been completed; and the department is coordinating with DLNR on forested-area treatments. He also reported ongoing efforts to improve coverage of inspections for airline passengers’ checked baggage and cargo.
Legislative measures
Hill briefed the board on several bills relevant to the invasive-species and biosecurity effort. Items mentioned included HB 643 (funding for CRB response), SB 140 (regulation of firewood movement and sale), SB 330 (authority for department staff to enforce federal quarantines) and SB 427 (a broader measure that would rename the department, establish a deputy for biosecurity and create an emergency response program, among other changes). Hill said language and details remain in flux as measures proceed through the legislature.
Board members asked procedural questions and requested that testimony be taken per meeting rules; the chair reminded members that staff updates and public testimony are handled under different procedures and that detailed hiring or personnel discussions were not on the agenda.
Next steps
Department staff said they will continue surveillance, expand outreach and treatments, coordinate with counties and DLNR for removal and drone treatment where appropriate, and pursue legislative and funding options to support the statewide response. The board received the report as an informational, nonaction item.
