Devising A Method of ‘Expected Damage’ Estimation for a Polyphagous Invertebrate Pest Exotic to Western Australia

With increasing efficiency in human and freight transport fuelled by the creation of the global market place, pressure is mounting on quarantine administrators to target their resources strategically. A managed approach to decision-making is therefore becoming an integral part of quarantine management since target species and/or entry pathways must be identified and policed effectively. Using the example of Melon Thrips in Western Australia, this paper presents an economic framework that allows decision-makers to prioritise exotic pests based on the damage and production cost increases they are capable of imposing on affected industries. In doing so it identifies a critical level of expected damage associated with the pest that can then be used as a ceiling for incursion response expenditure.