The findings of a special working group into shellfish deaths off the North East and North Yorkshire coast are set to be endorsed by North Yorkshire Council’s executive committee.
A report by the working group, made up of several councils in the region, detailed the ‘catastrophic’ impact that the crustacean die-offs in 2021 had on fishing communities, including in Whitby and Scarborough.
A North Yorkshire Council committee examined the report this summer and called on NYC’s executive committee to endorse the findings.
One of the recommendations of the final report proposed “financial support for ventures that might aid the recovery of marine ecosystems”.
A report prepared for a meeting of the executive on Tuesday, September 16, states that while there are “no direct financial implications” for the authority, future decisions “associated with the recommendations of the report or allocating resources may have future financial implications for North Yorkshire Council”.
Councillors have also called for a national reduction of red tape to improve responses to future crises, after thousands of dead marine creatures, including crabs, started washing up between Hartlepool and Whitby in 2021.
No definitive cause was found, with fishermen claiming it was linked to the dredging of the River Tees, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) originally said it was likely to be due to naturally occurring harmful algae.
In 2023, North Yorkshire Council supported calls for a public inquiry into the crustacean die-offs and a public inquiry was formally requested by the working group in July 2024.
However, Defra advised that an inquiry was unlikely to provide substantial new insights due to the length of time since the initial incident.
“The event had impacted extremely negatively on the mental health and livelihoods of members of the fishing community and was described as a fight for survival for our ecosystem, community and tourism,” the working group – made up of councillors from Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton councils – found.
A report for the NYC executive committee concludes: “It is felt important to seek formal endorsement of the final report at each of the five local authorities represented as part of the Working Group, so that it can be forwarded to relevant stakeholders and government agencies, with a request to consider how the proposed report recommendations might be implemented.”
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