/ . --- start quotes --- / .
 
<>Date:         Mon, 27 Feb 1995 09:44:00 -0800
<>From: "Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652"              <PVANWESTE
<>Subject:      Re: Your help needed to protect Hawai'i's honey bees
<>
<>    Because of Hawaii's longstanding importation ban, and its opportunity
<>    remain free of parasitic mites, I can appreciate the demand for some f
<>    of protection.  As I wrote in ABJ's january 1995 edition, the strength
<>    arguments in support of protection must be based on scientific evidenc
<>    together with risk assessment studies.  For the lack of information of
<>    Hawaii's inventory of bee pathogens, it is difficult to consider NZ
<>    transshipments as a bonafide health risk to Hawaiian bees at this time
<>    To resolve the issue, a comprehensive survey may be carried out in
<>    Hawaii.  The results can then be compared with the New Zealand list.
<>
<>    Considering the scientific information currently available, I find it
<>    difficult to accept the argument that New Zealand bees pose a health r
<>    to the North American bee population.   But then, I do agree that perh
<>    New Zealand may pose an 'economic risk' to some American bee suppliers
 
/ . --- end of quotes --- / .
 
     Hello Paul,
 
       I wanted to post this to you, but your return address is a
tad long for my system or mail reader to read, so I will use the gang
mail.
 
       I agree more study is needed. Not so sure what the economic risk
is, unless it is to all the bees in Hawaii, as I believe there are only
1 or 2 commercial queen outfits in Hawaii and not sure that Canada makes
up that much of their business. Maybe you can give us some figures
to make this point as it seems to me that the real economic gain is
with the people who want to use them in Canada and the sellers in New
Zealand, and the potential for loss is in Hawaii which is the last
Varroa clean bee pasture zone in the US and won't benefit from the
accidental introduction of new pathogens real or imagined.
 
      I still don't understand why these bees can not make a direct
connection without any stops in Hawaii or the US mainland unless that
to is somehow connected to the economics of a charter flight via a
schedule one.
 
      In any case unless the concerned US beekeepers make a dramatic
case with their own politico's at once, it is my understanding that this
is a done deal..
                       ttul Andy-
 
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