Shellfish deaths: Public inquiry could be backed by North Yorkshire Council

At the first full meeting of the council, Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors have called for an inquiry into “unexplained die-offs and wash-ups” of crustaceans and fish “along the North Yorkshire and Cleveland coast since October 2021”.

If backed, North Yorkshire Council would call on Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey to convene a public inquiry “with powers to compel testimony and the release of all forms of evidence in order to address public concern about this issue”. The council meeting is scheduled for May 17.

The move comes as local crab and lobster fishermen say their livelihoods are at risk due to significantly reduced catches which many blame on dredging in the Tees. They have called on the Government for further testing. However, Dr Coffey ruled out further investigations when she appeared at a recent meeting of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Scarborough and Whitby MP Sir Robert Goodwill.

An independent crustacean mortality expert panel, set up by the Government to look into the deaths, said that “it is about as likely as not that a pathogen new to UK waters – a potential disease or parasite – caused the unusual crab mortality”.

Dr Coffey told the committee: “The key thing that the panel did conclude significantly and ruled out was that it was to do with the pyridine, but that it was a novel pathogen.”

Pyridine is a chemical which is toxic to crabs and some scientists think the chemical was disturbed by dredging in the Tees.

The council motion would mandate the authority to “note with concern… claims that recent capital dredging in the Tees estuary has resulted in the disposal of contaminated sediment at sea”. It also notes “Defra’s failure to provide a conclusive scientific explanation for these die-off events or to set out a plan for research and action to avoid future recurrences”.

While the motion calling for a public inquiry has been proposed by Labour’s Neil Swannick and Liberal Democrat Bryn Griffiths, there has been cross-party concern about the impact of the shellfish deaths on fishing communities, particularly in Whitby.

Calls for financial support to those affected have been made by politicians across the county including Alison Hume, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Scarborough and Whitby.

Sir Robert told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that “there seems to be a good case for giving some support”.

The motion concludes: “The issue of crustacean die-off is a serious issue with devastating consequences for the socio-economic and environmental future of the east coast. The need for a public inquiry is the obvious next step.”