In February, fishers from Hartlepool to Scarborough reported their catches were a tenth of what they would normally expect. But an independent expert commissioned by the North East Fishing Collective found evidence linking the deaths to pyridine.įishers and residents of coastal communities close to the Tees first highlighted the die-offs in autumn last year. “The views of the expert panel will steer consideration of further action,” Spencer said in a letter to Goodwill.Ī multi-agency investigation coordinated by Defra, in February 2022, blamed the die-offs on naturally occurring algal blooms, and dismissed concerns that toxic sediment dredged from the River Tees and dumped in the sea could be to blame. However, Defra stopped short of granting the request of Sir Robert Goodwill to minimise dredging while the investigation took place. ![]() ![]() “Defra’s investigation concluded that the most likely cause was an algal bloom, but we have always recognised this is a complex area of science and have remained open to further research.”Įarlier this month the chair of the House of Commons environment select committee called for an urgent investigation into whether dredging had caused the deaths. Mark Spencer, the fisheries minister, said on Tuesday: “I recognise fishing communities in the north-east want as thorough an assessment as possible into the crab and lobster deaths last year.
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