Some P.E.I. beekeepers worry pests will tag along in Ontario imports

Some Island beekeepers want all hives imported from Ontario this springto be tested for the small hive beetle, due to fears it will devastate their hives.

The small hive beetle's excrementcan cause honey to ferment something many in the industry refer to as 'slimed.'

Last year,the province said Island beekeepers imported 1,800 hivesfromOntario, andsaid that number could double in 2019.

Roger O'Neill, president of the P.E.I. Beekeepers Association, said because the number of hives being imported to P.E.I.mayincrease, testing all importsshould be mandatory.

My concern is that small hive beetle will, for me, be devastating. Stan Sandler

"I would like to see the government do 100 per cent inspection on the hives. Last year, we had 100per cent inspection of the1,700 - 1,800hives that came in," he said.

"As a beekeeper, and most beekeepers will sure agree, you need the honey crop. There's not a beekeeper on P.E.I. that's set up for hive beetle when it comes."

Inspectionsin Ontario andP.E.I.

Provincial apiarist Cameron Menzies said due tolower demand for pollination last year, testing was doable. This year, he said, the samemay be possible.

"We may have enough time if we can afford it, but we can't anticipate what that's going to be," he said.

"We also have to see what our own honey bee losses are going to be over the winter before we can be sure what the demand for importation is going to be."

He said P.E.I. has safety protocols in place to protect againstsmall hive beetle, which includessending a team of inspectors to Ontario.

"This will be the second year that we're doing that and the proportion of hives we're going to inspect in addition to the Ontario inspectorsis greater than what is deemed acceptable from a risk-management perspective," he said.

Menzies saidbetween inspections in Ontario and P.E.I., at least 70 per cent of hives will be inspected before they arrive on P.E.I.

'Don't have quite enough hives here'

In addition to a possible increase of imports from Ontario, Island beekeepersare concerned that Ontario has dropped some of its small hive beetlequarantine zones, saying the zones were no longer effective in reducing the spread of the beetle.

Menzies said hives will only be imported to P.E.I. from zones considered safe in Ontario.

The reason P.E.I. imports hives from out-of-provinceis to help pollinatethe blueberry industry.

"We have to ensure that our blueberry growers have access to sufficient pollinating hives to obtain the profitable yields and we don't have quite enough hives here on P.E.I. to meet that pollination demand," said Menzies.

'They'll have slimed everything'

John Handrahan isa P.E.I. blueberry grower and spokesperson for the industry whosaid while he's concerned for local beekeepers, he believes the protocol the government hasin place is enough.

"We would not like to see another pest introduced unnecessarily," he said. "However I have confidence that the province will look after the best interests of the beekeepers."

Stan Sandler,a beekeeper with Milk and Honey Farm near Murray River, said he'd like to see the province protect Island hives by not bringing in any from out of province.

"My concern is that small hive beetle will, for me, be devastating because it takes me months to extract my honey which during that time they'll have slimed everything."

Party leaders make commitment

Handrahan said he's opposed to closingP.E.I.'s borders to imports he points to difficulties beekeepers faced in past decades with closed border.

"As a blueberry grower, I wentfor over fiveyears without being able to access any honeybees at all because then as now, the local beekeeping industry cannot supply enough honeybees to meet the demand," he said.

"Now, there is hope that at some point that with more and bigger operations, they might get to that place," of self-sufficienct, Handrahan said. "But they are not at the place now. And the size of our crop and the profitability of our farms depend on sufficient pollination."

Menzies said if the beetle was to enter the province, there is a planin place to deal with it.

He said that plan includes the depopulation and destruction of beehives.

Menzies said the province is still working on a full mitigation strategy which may include quarantining.

At an environmental forum on Monday night, leaders of all four political parties said they'd commit to 100 per cent testing ofimported hivesif elected.

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