Business · Crop damageCoffs Harbour flying foxes: Grower estimates more than 10,000 bananas damagedAired October 26, 2026 at 10:28 PM UTCWritten October 26, 2026 at 10:33 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07Flying foxes are ruining bananas months before growers can harvest them.0:11Affected farms are losing saleable fruit and facing a wildlife hazard.0:14Their workers can't safely clear themselves.0:16National fruit supplies remain steady.0:18But who will help these growers remove the animals and pay for protection?0:22Coff's Harbor grower Paul Schoker estimates that flying foxes damaged more than ten0:26thousand individual bananas on his farm during October.0:29That gives a concrete measure of the damage to one business.0:32The region's total losses haven't been counted.0:34The animals reach for pollen and nectar at the banana flower tips.0:37In doing so, Shoker says they scratch the bunch.0:40The fruit can stay on the plant for another couple of months, but by harvest, those0:43scratches can make it unsaleable.0:45He expects to have to cut damaged bunches down, losing fruit he has already spent0:49time growing.0:49At Bonneville, Ladyfinger grower Mick Gentle says flying foxes have crawled beneath0:53bags, protecting his banana blossoms.0:55They're also staying in the plantation during daylight, in thirty-six years on the0:59farm.1:00He says he's never seen this behavior or damage on this scale.1:07Raspberry and blackberry growers on the Coffs Coast are also finding flying foxes1:12inside protective crop tunnels.1:13Berry's Australia chief executive Rachel Mackenzie says some animals are weak and1:17fragile, and some are dying in the nets.1:19A mass starvation event linked to scarce nectar is suspected, but the cause of these1:23crop incursions hasn't been confirmed.1:25Mackenzie wants state support for safe removal.1:28She says growers can't deal with the animals themselves, and volunteers shouldn't1:31have to carry the responsibility.1:32Her request puts the immediate problem inside the farm: how to protect workers while1:36clearing distressed animals from crops.1:38Australian bat lissivirus is the infection risk behind that concern.1:42A sick, trapped, or dead flying fox needs trained handling.1:45Workers shouldn't assume an animal is safe to touch because it appears helpless.1:49The same situation also creates an animal welfare problem.1:52With distressed flying foxes caught where growers need to work.1:55NSW Health says wildlife should only be handled by trained people with the1:59recommended vaccinations and correct protective equipment.2:01Earlier Mid-North Coast Health Advice specifically warns against touching injured or2:05dead flying foxes and microbats.2:07That remains standing safety advice.2:09Berry growers have been advised to put netting across tunnel ends, adding another2:13expense while they're losing fruit.2:15The State Environment Department recommends exclusion netting as a physical barrier.2:18It can also protect crops against hail, wind, sun damage, and birds.2:22Other options include fruit bags, sound deterrence, and lighting, with advice2:25tailored to each operation.2:27The damage is concentrated on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast around Coff's2:31Harbor and nearby farms.2:32Australia's main banana growing region lies much farther north in Queensland.2:37That separation helps explain how these growers can lose heavily while consumers2:40still have a steady overall supply.2:42Freshmark Chief Executive Megan George says overall banana supply and market2:46conditions haven't really been affected.2:48She does warn that local buyers may have difficulty accessing that supply.2:51Overall supplies of the affected fruit crops, including berries, remain steady.2:55For consumers, that means the losses described by these farms aren't currently2:59translating into a broader supply squeeze.3:01Australia grew three hundred and sixty nine zero tons of bananas in the two thousand3:05and twenty three twenty-four financial year.3:07North Queensland produced ninety-four percent of that crop.3:09The areas around Innesfale and Tully alone produced two hundred and fifty, nine,3:14zero tons, or seventy percent of the national total.3:17Those historical figures show where production is concentrated.3:20More recent shipping figures give another measure of activity in the North.3:23The Australian Banana Growers Council recorded an increase in North Queensland3:27consignments in the week ending October eighteenth.3:29Those shipments are counted in cartons, so they need to stay separate from annual3:33production measured in tons.3:34North Queensland sent four hundred forty eight one hundred and eleven cartons in3:38week forty-one, followed by five hundred and sixty five six hundred ninety cartons3:42in week forty-two.3:43That's an increase of one hundred and seventeen five hundred and seventeen nine3:46cartons.3:47These figures track regional shipments leaving growers rather than fruit sitting in3:51shops or damage on the affected New South Wales farms.3:54Winnymakers are watching too.3:55In the Hunter Valley, Ivan Hoines Aluis Drayton says flying foxes haven't appeared3:59in local vineyards this season.4:01He thinks they could arrive in January if food stays scarce.4:04In2017 , some growers there lost sixty to seventy percent of their crops overnight,4:09with damaged and contaminated grapes becoming unusable.4:12For the affected banana and berry growers, the immediate response is still crop4:16protection advice.4:17General state guidance recommends wildlife, friendly netting to reduce entrapment,4:21but Gentle's experience shows animals have already got beneath existing fruit bags.4:25The state government hasn't announced a funded removal package or a date for an4:29assistance decision.4:30Growers face lost saleable fruit and added protection costs while they wait for help4:33with safe removal.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe 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