Shellfish deaths: MPs call for government inquiry details

MPs probing crustacean deaths off the North East and Yorkshire coast have criticised a government investigation for a "lack of transparency".

Fishermen between Whitby and Hartlepool have complained of catastrophic catch losses since the first mass die-off in October 2021.

Officials initially said an algal bloom was to blame but fears have been raised about chemicals released by dredging.

The government has said an independent panel will reinvestigate by January.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which held a hearing into the die-offs in October, said it welcomed a pledge by the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to set up "an independent group of external experts to analyse the evidence behind the competing theories".

In a new letter to Environment Secretary Therese Coffey, Conservative committee chairman and MP for Scarborough and Whitby Sir Robert Goodwill said the inquiry should be "open and collaborative" to "rebuild trust and work towards a consensus".

But, he said, the "exact terms of reference of the review are unknown" and the committee had seen emails which said "membership of the panel will not be shared outside of government until the panel has published its findings".

Sir Robert said: "The committee feels that this falls short of the collaborative process that we envisaged for this review.

"This lack of transparency and communication is unlikely to build trust with scientists who have been critical of the previous Defra report and the local community, which feels that its concerns have not been listened to.

"Indeed, the current approach risks making this conflict worse."

He said the review should be "more open, transparent and collaborative" and as a minimum, details of who would be on the panel should be published before the end of the year.

A Defra spokeswoman said the committee's letter had been received and would be responded to "in due course".

She added: "We recognise fishing communities in the North East want as thorough an assessment as possible into the crab and lobster deaths last year.

"Whilst an investigation concluded a naturally occurring algal bloom was the most likely cause, all the evidence is now also being assessed by an independent expert panel."

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