Japanese beetles strike P.E.I.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is restricting the movement of plants and soil from P.E.I. as part of efforts to stop the spread of the Japanese beetle.

The new regulations follow the finding of the pest in plants in the Charlottetown area last summer. Plants and soil can no longer be moved from the Island to a province that doesn't have the pest without prior approval from the CFIA.

Dawn Miller-Cormier, CFIA's area network specialist for horticulture, told CBC News on Monday that the beetle is a quarantined pest for Canada as well as trading partners such as the United States. But the impact on the Island should not be too severe.

"Right now Prince Edward Island is surrounded by areas that are regulated for Japanese beetle, including Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and most of the eastern seaboard of the United States," said Miller-Cormier.

"That means that material moving from Prince Edward Island into those areas is not going to be subject to any additional movement restrictions. The only real issue is going to be with the movement of material into Newfoundland, and as well as Western Canada, for example British Columbia or some of the western states. Then we'll be looking at some additional movement restrictions on regulated material."

The Japanese beetle is a highly destructive plant pest native to the main islands of Japan. It attacks the foliage and fruit of more than 250 plants including corn, blueberries and apples.