North East fishing trade hit by mystery shellfish deaths

Fishermen in Whitby are calling for financial support from the government to "save" the North East fleet amid a mystery over mass shellfish deaths.

Crabs and lobsters are dying by the thousands due to an unknown cause.

Fisherman have alleged it may be linked to the dredging of the River Tees and want an investigation and compensation.

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was "engaging with fishermen" but inquiries had ruled out dredging as a cause.

However, Whitby Fisherman's Association said it believed the mystery deaths were linked to the work which began on the South Bank Quay in October.

Two million tonnes of material are expected to be excavated in total to create a deep-water berthing facility - a move which the Tees Valley Combined Authority said would "unlock significant new opportunities for growth".

Adrian Noble, who has been landing crabs and lobsters for 40 years, said his catch was affected about a week and a half after the work began.

He said: "I had 8,000kg of lobster in eight weeks before this thing, now it's 12 lobsters out of 300 pots - something seems to have killed everything along the coast.

"We're losing our livelihoods, we use £250 of bait a day, £50 a day for diesel and I have three men and myself that need to make a living out of it.

"My boat's paid for but savings only last so long, the lads need money to live, we'll go bankrupt, it's very, very serious."

He described the situation as "the death knell for the North East coast" and said serious answers were needed, along with a compensation package.

Robert Goodwill, the Conservative MP for Whitby and Scarborough, described the situation as a "complete mystery" and "a matter of great concern".

He said: "I'm vainly hoping that at some point Defra will say 'there's a Second World War vessel that has some munitions on and it's leaking out and that's what's causing it'.

"But to affect such a large area and for traces of chemical either in the water or in the dead fish not to be seen is really quite a mystery."

He added that he would be "happy" to hear from fishermen about how it was affecting their income.

"If we could pinpoint some particular spill or discharge that has caused it then of course compensation would be available following action taken against that, but we have no real way of knowing what's caused it."

But he warned that speculation about the situation could potentially undermine the markets as no toxins and no disease had been found.

Defra said it had taken on overall responsibility for the investigation, which was ongoing, from the Environment Agency.

A statement said: "Dredging has been ruled out as a likely cause of the dead crabs and lobsters.

"Samples of dredge material must meet the highest international standards protecting marine life before it is permitted to be disposed of at sea.

"If samples analysed for contaminants do not meet the standards the disposal will not be licensed.

"In addition, Environment Agency tests on the affected crabs and lobsters ruled out chemical pollutants."

It added: "We are engaging with fishermen and their representatives to get a fuller understanding of the incident."

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