Import and release of biological control agents into Canada

Biological control agents are insects, mites, nematodes and other organisms used to control plant pests such as weeds or insects. Despite their potential benefits for managing pests, they present a risk to the environment because they themselves can become pests or carriers of pests.

To prevent direct or indirect harm to plant health, the import and release of biological control agents in Canada is regulated. The regulatory approach includes conducting scientific reviews of requests to release biological control agents and establishing requirements for post-release monitoring.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) sets requirements that govern the import, handling and release in Canada of biological control organisms. These requirements are based on authorities in the Plant Protection Act and are provided in the Import requirements for potentially injurious organisms (other than plants) to prevent the importation of plant pests in Canada (D-12-02).

First release of non-indigenous biological control agents

Before a biological control agent can be released into the Canadian environment for the first time, a petition requesting its release must be submitted to the CFIA. The petition must include information about the safety of the organism.

Petitions are reviewed by a Biological Control Review Committee, which is coordinated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The committee includes taxonomists, ecologists and other scientists from the federal and provincial governments and Canadian universities.

After the petition is reviewed by the committee, the committee makes a recommendation that is considered by the CFIA in its final assessment. The CFIA then communicates its decision to the petitioner.

CFIA process for biological control agent petitions

Description of figure – Petition review and assessment process

Acronyms

• IASDP: Invasive Alien Species and Domestic Programs Section
• PHRA: Plant Health Risk Assessment Unit
• BCRC: Biological Control Review Committee

Petition review and assessment process

• Petitioner sends petition to Director of the Plant Protection Division: cfia.ias-eee.acia@canada.ca
• IASDP reviews petition to determine if it is complete and within CFIA's mandate under the Plant Protection Act
• If outside mandate, IASDP contacts petitioner to advise that the petition is not required
• If petition is incomplete, IASDP contacts petitioner to advise that petition must be resubmitted
• If petition is complete, IASDP consults with PHRA to identify a CFIA representative for the BCRC review process
• IASDP forwards petition to the Chair of BCRC for review, and identifies the CFIA participant
• Chair of BCRC forwards BCRC's assessments and recommendations to IASDP
• IASDP reviews BCRC's assessments and recommendations, in consultation with PHRA as required
• IASDP sends its recommendation to the Director of the Plant Protection Division Director of the Plant Protection Division communicates the CFIA's decision to the petitioner

Table 1 lists the petitions submitted in Canada since 2000. For each request, it includes the target organism and biological control agent, as well as the status of the request.

The petition process is not required for biological control agents from commercial sources that have already been approved by the CFIA. These Biological Control Agents From Commercial Sources are listed in section 5 of appendix 1 to D-12-02.

Approved agents may be imported provided a plant protection import permit is obtained and they are produced in a rearing facility with a protected environment for at least one complete generation. When requesting to import any of these approved agents, the following information must be provided on your application for a plant protection import permit:

• Name and location of the rearing facility with a protected environment; and
• Date from which agents have been under continuous culture in this rearing facility.

Furthermore, when applying to import predatory mites listed in section 5 of appendix 1, prey mite species used as food source must also be listed on the permit application for each predatory mite.

Resources

• Approval process for the first environmental release of biological control agents
• Guide for the first-time importation and release of arthropod biological control agents in Canada
• Guidelines for petition for first release of non-indigenous phytophagous biological control agents (PDF)
• Guidelines for petition for first release of non-indigenous entomophagous biological control agents (PDF)

Additional information

• Guidelines for the export, shipment, import and release of biological control agents and other beneficial organisms
• Questions and answers: wasps as biological control agents for emerald ash borers