An independent panel will be set up to investigate the deaths of thousands of dead crabs and lobsters that were washed ashore onto North Sea beaches last year, the UK government has announced.
Mass numbers of dying crustaceans were found along parts of the north-east coast of England between October and December 2021. There were distressing scenes of large numbers dead on beaches with fishing crews warning that sparse catches offshore following the event was “catastrophic” for their livelihoods.
Chief scientific adviser from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Professor Gideon Henderson, said the deaths were “unusual” and that “it is important we understand its cause.”
The panel will consider the impact of dredging around a freeport development in Teesside and the presence of pyridine, a chemical pollutant, among other potential causes, Defra said.
What happened on the Teesside and North Yorkshire coast?
Residents of coastal communities close to the mouth of the River Tees have been raising the alarm over the deaths of crustaceans since autumn last year.
An initial report by Defra blamed a naturally occurring algal bloom. But independent researchers blamed chemicals released by dredging operations linked to the development of the government’s flagship freeport at the mouth of the Tees.
The development on Europe’s largest brownfield site is expected to bring as many as 18,000 new jobs to the area. But some fear the extensive demolition, rebuilding and dredging work has disturbed pollutants that have lain dormant in the area and the surrounding seabed for decades.
Earlier this month the chair of the House of Commons environment select committee called for an urgent investigation into whether dredging had caused the deaths.
However, Defra stopped short of granting the request of Sir Robert Goodwill, MP of Scarborough and Whitby, to minimise dredging while the investigation took place.
Joe Redfern, secretary of Whitby Commercial Fishing Association, told Defra’s select committee that he th