All bees within the 10-kilometre eradication zone of the Port will be euthanised as part of a six-month emergency biosecurity order issued on Sunday, June 26.

The order aims to stop the movement of bees across NSW after the varroa mite was discovered at the Port on Wednesday, June 22.

Williamtown beekeeper David Vial said some of his 300 or so hives were within the 10-kilometre zone, and estimated that there could be thousands of affected hives all up.

A past president of the Hunter Valley Amateur Beekeepers Association, Mr Vial described the arrival of varroa as "heartbreaking" but said urgent action was needed, all the more so because the annual almond industry pollination was set to start in the coming four to six weeks.

He said the almond pollination was the "largest livestock movement in the country", and the trucking of thousands of hives up and down the eastern states was an event that was almost ready-made to spread Varroa if it was not stopped at Newcastle.

"We're all pretty devastated," Mr Vial said, adding the association had about 300 members of mostly hobbyists. "It'll have a huge impact on the bee industry."

Pumpkin, watermelons, blueberries, canola, Lucerne, clover and other grasses involved in the beef industry are also at risk of being impacted if bee populations plunge.

Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders issued a statewide emergency order on Sunday to "control the movement of bees across NSW and stop the spread of varroa mite".

"If varroa mite settles in the state it will have severe consequences, so we're taking every precaution and action needed to contain the parasite and protect the local honey industry and pollination," Mr Saunders said, adding that varroa could cost the industry $70 million a year if it became established here.

The statewide freeze replaces an earlier 50-kilometre "biosecurity zone" that included in it a 10-kilometre "red" zone that various bee industry figures said would result in the killing of all hives in that radius.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries said the 10-kilometre "emergency zone remains in place", with "eradication plans" to "treat hives within that zone".

A DPI spokesperson said there was "certainly no indication of the eradication zone being extended at this point".

"It depends on the situation moving forward and if more incursions occur," the spokesperson said.

Six sentinel hives at the Port and three private hives in Newcastle have been destroyed in the biosecurity operation so far.

A further 120 hives had been destroyed on a property in the Trangie area in central west NSW, where a Newcastle beekeeper kept hives.

A 50-kilometre biosecurity zone has been established around the Port.

Beekeepers within this area must notify the Department of Primary Industries of the locations of their hives.

A 25-kilometre surveillance zone is also in place, with officials monitoring and inspecting honey bees in this area.

The department has requested numerous beekeepers in the Hunter to check for varroa mite.

They have been asked to do a "sugar shake test", which involves putting bees in a container and rolling them in icing sugar to test for mites.

Roger Easton, who runs Highland Honey at Fennell Bay, said the state order meant "they've put a complete prohibition on us moving hives, collecting honey or honeycomb from hives and even looking in our hives".

"They want everybody to register the location of their hives," he said. "I have very little honey at the moment. I buy honey off a couple of big beekeepers but they'll lose all of their hives. It's going to wipe us out."

Nonetheless, Mr Easton said "we've got to get rid of this varroa".

The Newcastle-based Urban Hum said "we will have all our 90 hives destroyed to protect honeybees across Australia".

"Newcastle will not be able to have hives for several years," Urban Hum owners Anna Scobie and Kelly Lees said in a Facebook post on Monday morning, which has since been widely shared.

"To starve the parasite, they will kill the host - our beautiful honeybee hives - and all feral/wild European honeybee colonies will die. Native bees will not be affected by varroa mite and will not be targeted in the eradication by the DPI."

The pair urged beekeepers to "bee kind" to the biosecurity response team who would be entering backyard to destroy hives, and urged people to "plant flowers to support native bees and other pollinators".

Beekeepers are also concerned how the crisis will affect the pollination of fruit and vegetables.