A single fruit fly has been discovered in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn, leaving the surrounding area in a fruit and vegetable lockdown.

A single male Queensland fruit fly has put the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn and surrounding areas in a fruit and vegetable lockdown.

The fly was found in a routine check of one of the Ministry of Primary Industry's 7500 surveillance traps on Monday.

Restrictions on the movement of fruit and some vegetables within a 1.5km radius of where the fly was found have been implemented. This included parts of Grey Lynn, Western Springs, Mt Albert, Ponsonby and Kingsland.

SUPPLIED A Queensland fruit fly, like those discovered in Auckland.

Ministry of Primary Industries chief operations officer Andrew Coleman said the detection of the single male fly did not mean there was an outbreak.

The Queensland fruit fly had been detected five times before in northern New Zealand - in Whangarei and in Auckland, Coleman said.

"In all cases MPI carried out thorough surveillance and no further flies were found."

Field teams, including dozens of additional staff, were setting further traps and dissecting fruit at public and residential addresses within the zone to determine whether there was a breeding population present.

Only male fruit flies could be trapped, the presence of females was detected through egg and larvae findings.

Coleman said the lockdown could last up to three weeks.

Map of fruit fly controlled area.

It was likely the fly came into the country as an egg or larvae from Australia or New Caledonia, where both nations had declared fruit fly populations.

New Zealand imported 22,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables from Australia each year and the country had a burgeoning fruit fly population.

'WORLD-CLASS' SYSTEMS

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said biosecurity was his number one priority and a number of new measures had been put in place during the past 12 months.

New Zealand had "world class" systems, Guy said.

Procedures and government-industry agreements were always evolving, he said.

"We'll learn from this."

Horticulture New Zealand laid the blame directly on Australia, claiming biosecurity protection within the country's borders was "seriously breaking down".

Horticulture NZ president Julian Raine said the spread of the Queensland fruit fly was "out of control" in Australia and the interstate regulators were "powerless" to stop its progression south.

A breeding population of the pest could have catastrophic results for the country's horticultural industry.

Raine said horticulture was New Zealand's fourth-largest good export industry.

It had an estimated worth of about $5 billion a year, including domestic sales.

Last year the Kiwifruit Vine Health Board said the financial impact of a fruit fly incursion would cost the kiwifruit industry alone between $2 million and $430m a year.

The national, annual cost of Queensland fruit fly in Australia is estimated to be A$28.5m ($29.6m).

Raine said he hoped the initial scare would not have any economic impacts and no further flies would be found.

Bringing back the 100 per cent x-ray of passenger bags coming from Australia would help improve New Zealand's protection, he said.

"It's not acceptable to go through this drama every summer. New Zealand horticulture deserves better."

SCARES COMMON

Fruit fly scares have become more common in recent years, especially in the warmer climes of Auckland and Northland.

In 2012 a Queensland fruit fly was discovered in a surveillance trap, the first time any species of fruit fly had been found in New Zealand since the discovery of a Mediterranean fruit fly back in 1996. Last year a Queensland fruit fly was found near Whangarei, sending the Far North into a horticulture lockdown.

A second fly was found in the same area a few months later.

Following the finds MPI announced yachts arriving in Northland from overseas would face greater biosecurity scrutiny.

A ban on the movement of whole fresh fruit and vegetables except for leafy and root vegetables was being enforced, which would be in place for "at least a couple of weeks".

Coleman said it was likely the fruit fly came in as an egg or larvae from overseas.

The fly was most likely to have come from Australia or New Caledonia, where both nations had declared fruit fly populations.

Australia had a burgeoning fruit fly population that had spread from Queensland into New South Wales and parts of Victoria.

New Zealand imported 22,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables from Australia each year.

The fly was found in a routine check of one of the ministry's 7500 traps.

A rapid response had been put in place and an extra 60 people were on the ground in Auckland. The number if additional staff working on the investigation could reach 120.

Further signs would be put up in the zone tonight, the ministry would continue to drop leaflets, meet with residents and stakeholders in the area and provide composting bins for fruit tonight and tomorrow.

The response would take two to three weeks to conclude, Coleman said.