The UK Parliament Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee held a hearing into the deaths of large numbers of crustaceans off the Yorkshire coast since October 2021.

There have been conflicting theories about the reasons for the deaths of the crabs and lobsters. The Government has attributed the cause to a marine ‘algal bloom’, while others have argued that the phenomenon is caused by pollution linked to dredging. The session looked at the different explanations for the cause of the deaths, what can be done to prevent a recurrence and its impact on local communities. (photo: Chris Combe)

Witnesses gave evidence to the Committee, including government agencies such as the Environment Agency, Cefas and the MMO. In addition, the Committee heard from fishing representatives, the IFCA, port and academics.

Calls for further investigation

One of the academics, Dr Rodney Forster, the director of the university’s Hull Marine Laboratory, gave evidence and joined other scientists in calling for further investigation into the mysterious death of thousands of crabs and lobsters off the North-East coast 12 months ago.

Another witness, Dr Gary Caldwell from Newcastle University, called for deep dredging in the area to be halted until all possible known sites containing pyridine were mapped. He added: “For us to completely, and with confidence, say we have got a really rock-solid explanation that pyridine is the straw that broke the camel’s back in this scenario, we just need to know how much pyridine is in the deep sediment and we can’t get hold of that.” 

In addition to the oral evidence session – see here – written evidence was received from a number of parties, which can be found here. 

Dr Caldwell has also written a piece in The Conversation, which can be read here. In it he says that ‘Teesside is undergoing rapid redevelopment to hasten the green industrial revolution. But in so doing we have been forced to reconcile with the region’s industrial legacy. By carrying out additional research we can better understand this issue and inform future action to prevent further damage to the marine ecosystem.’

There has also been a BBC tv programme exploring the deaths. ‘We Are England: Trouble at Sea’ covered the issues and followed the local community as they dealt with the fallout from the ecological disaster and try to understand how it came about.

Committee letter to Secretary of State

Following the evidence sessions, the Chair of the EFRA Committee,  Rt Hon Sir Robert Goodwill MP, has written to Defra with its interim conclusions on the topic. In it they state:

• 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.
• We also recommend that the Government Chief Scientific Adviser should urgently appoint an expert independent scientific panel (“the expert panel”) to review the evidence.
• The MMO must urgently review the dredging activity in the Tees.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Until the cause of the mass die-off is known, we also believe that the MMO should routinely check for pyridine.
• The Government should reconsider its position on providing financial support to affected communities.

The Committee requested that an urgent response to the letter in advance of the Minister’s appearance before the Committee in November.

The full letter to Thérèse Coffey, Defra Secretary of State, can be read here.