Government Committee Calls for Fresh Investigation into Yorkshire Coast Shellfish Deaths

A government committee looking at the mass deaths of shellfish off the Yorkshire Coast has written to the Secretary of State calling for further investigations.

A select committee hearing last week heard competing theories about reason for the deaths of thousands of crabs and lobsters.

The committee has called for the government chief scientific advisor to look at the suggestion that dredging in the River Tees caused a chemical to be released from sediment that killed the crustaceans.

Scarborough and Whitby MP, Sir Robert Goodwill, chaired the committee - he says the impact has been huge.

DEFRA say a natural algal bloom was the cause of the mass mortality event but local fishermen and academic's from Newcastle University suggest that dredging in the River Tees released the chemical Pyridine from sediment, and say that killed the crabs.

Robert Goodwill has now written to the secretary of state asking for a fresh investigation, Robert says he's been doing what he can to keep the issue visible in Westminster.

The letter to the Secretary of State calls for further investigations to take place saying:

"There is clearly a need for further data and research on the causes of the mass die-off. This must include urgent investigation of the potential sources of pyridine that Dr Gary Caldwell of Newcastle University identified in his oral evidence including more extensive sampling of the sediments in the bed of the Tees Estuary to create a map of potential sources of pyridine in proximity to maintenance dredging and the wider area."

"This research must be done in an open and collaborative way between Government Agencies and the wider scientific  communities, including the independent verification of testing. We hope this would also include Dr Caldwell sharing his  research data with all interested parties. A collaborative approach is essential to start the process of rebuilding trust between Government Agencies and the local fishing communities which has been badly damaged"

"We also recommend that the Government Chief Scientific Adviser should urgently appoint an expert independent scientific panel (“the expert panel”) to review the evidence for both theories. The expert panel should conduct its work as quickly as  possible and report back its findings as soon as possible."

The letter also calls for dredging operation in the River Tees to be reviewed adding:

"The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) must urgently review the dredging activity in the Tees. Maintenance dredging, we were told, removes material recently deposited in the shipping channels. This will include sand that has washed in from the North Sea but it also includes silt washed down the river. Dr Caldwell suggested that this could have been contaminated with historic material that may have entered the channel. Further detailed surveys may quantify the extent to which this has happened and the future potential risks."

The committee notes that a faster than usual dredging operation took place just before last autumns mortality event and calls for the MMO to look at the risks around such operations, the letter says:

"There are already controls on both capital and maintenance dredging. We note that only routine maintenance dredging took place ahead of the crustacean mortality event in Autumn 2021, although some maintenance dredging took place at a quicker pace than usual. We recommend that the MMO explore, in line with the precautionary principle, what steps could be taken to reduce the risk associated with capital and maintenance dredging such as improved techniques to prevent dredged sediment escaping into the wider environment during excavation. This should include consideration of whether there should be changes to the depth and intensity of dredging, whether changes should be made to dredging techniques, and where and how dredged
material is disposed of."

The letter also calls for more regular testing of dredged material for the chemical Pyridine.

"The MMO must also ensure that all the current conditions on its licence are met and should include pyridine in the testing as part of  any future licence approval process. We also believe that all dredged material should be tested for pyridine and any that is found to have dangerous levels of pyridine should not be disposed of at sea. This, and dredging techniques, should be reviewed in light of the expert panel’s findings"

"A complete moratorium on maintenance dredging would eventually close the port and its associated industries, causing further economic damage. We believe that maintenance dredging should be kept to the minimum level needed to keep the port operational until the expert panel’s investigation is completed. We believe this, together with the consideration of the factors we mentioned earlier, are sensible, proportionate steps that could be taken to help manage the risk while further investigations are undertaken."

"Until the cause of the mass die-off is known, we also believe that the MMO should routinely check for pyridine as part of the testing and approval process for any new capital dredging works. Any current capital dredging work and new licences issued after the conclusion of the expert panel’s investigation must take account of the outcome of that investigation."

Here is the full letter sent from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee to the Secretary of State : Sealife Mortality off the North East Coast Letter

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