10 Jan 2023

A new project is hoping to create seagrass meadows on the Tees for the first time in more than a century, according to local news outlets. The plant, which only grows in seawater, used to exist around the Tees estuary but has not been recorded there since 1906. Permission has been applied for to create […]

20 Dec 2022

Fishers and campaigners have protested against further developments on the River Tees after crustacean deaths off the North East and Yorkshire coasts, the BBC has reported. Meanwhile, MPs have pressed the Government into revealing more details of the inquiry set up into the deaths. The protesters, who gathered at the Teesworks site, believe dredging has disturbed toxic […]

22 Nov 2022

Campaigners who blame dredging for a die-off of shellfish along the North East coast have called for a halt to the practice in the River Tees while investigations continue. In October 2021, thousands of dead crabs and lobsters were found washed up on the Tees estuary and neighbouring north-east beaches. Countless crustaceans were found, with Marske […]

15 Nov 2022

An independent panel of external experts is to be set up to assess the evidence surrounding the deaths of large numbers of crustaceans, such as crabs and lobsters, on the North East coast between September and December 2021. In a letter to the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer confirmed Defra’s […]

18 Oct 2022

The Parliamentary Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee is to hold a hearing into the deaths of large numbers of shellfish washing up on beaches in the North East of England since October 2021.     The FishFocus website reported that there have been conflicting theories about the reason for the deaths of the crabs and lobsters. […]

11 Oct 2022

A minister has said he will “seriously” consider a study that claimed a toxic chemical was more likely to have caused mass shellfish deaths than algae.     Last week we reported that new research carried out by several universities commissioned by the fishing industry said pyridine, which could have been released by dredging, was […]

04 Oct 2022

A toxic chemical is more likely to have caused thousands of crab deaths than natural algae, a study has claimed. There has been extensive coverage regarding the high number of crab and lobster deaths that occurred in the North East last year, following the publication of a new study. The story was covered in the […]