Mr Patrick Nai

DAFF Torres Strait Biosecurity Officer

Patrick Nai was born and raised on Thursday Island and his family background is from Yorke Island, situated in the Central Torres Strait and part of the Kulkalgal Region of the Central Islands.

He commenced his role as a Biosecurity Officer for the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in 2016, and was involved in a range of projects including plant health and animal health survey assistance and small vessel surveillance.

Patrick is currently based at the Thursday Island Office working on Operations, Public Awareness and Scientific programs.

His current role is Biosecurity Officer in the Operations Program. He is involved in activities associated with Avian Influenza and Asian Citrus Phylid Trapping. He is also involved in the annual animal and plant health surveys and the all year round Fruit Fly Activities.

ABSTRACT

Partnership through the Treaty Village Fruit Fly Trapping Program: Papua New Guinea and Australia

The Treaty Village Fruit Fly Trapping Program (TVFFTP) was established in 2022 to understand the population dynamics of Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) within the Treaty Villages of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Western Province. This work compliments, and is an extension to, the extensive fruit fly trapping and eradication program established in Australia’s Torres Strait in the 1990s. Improving our understanding of Oriental fruit fly populations and movement throughout this region is mutually beneficial for both PNG and Australia. For PNG there is potential to minimise fruit fly impacts on agriculture and improving food security in regions that rely on subsistence farming. For Australia prospects to reduce fruit fly incursions via the Torres Strait offer vast benefits for national biosecurity risk mitigation.

The success of the TVFFTP is attributable to the collaboration between PNG’s National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA), Australia’s Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), INLOC Operational Group and the Treaty Village Ranger Network, and it is a testament to the genuine long-term partnership between our two countries.  The social and cultural connection between the PNG Treaty Village Rangers and DAFF Torres Strait Biosecurity Officers is strong and is part of this project’s successful partnership. This connection has strengthened biosecurity collaboration across the region and builds on the long-standing connectivity across our close borders.