Independent panel to look at what caused crab and lobster die-off along North East coast
An independent panel is to be set up to look at evidence surrounding the mass die-off of crabs and lobsters on the North East and North Yorkshire coast.
The group will be made up of experts from outside government, who will work with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA) Chief Scientific Advisor Gideon Henderson and the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.
They will assess the evidence and consider all explanations for why dead crabs and lobsters started washing up on beaches around Teesside and North Yorkshire between September and December 2021.
The panel will consider the possible roles of algal blooms, dredging and the industrial chemical pyridine.
They will also consider the findings of the DEFRA-led investigation, published in February 2022, as well as research by marine biologists based at four Northern universities.
Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said: "I recognise fishing communities in the North East want as thorough an assessment as possible into the crab and lobster deaths last year.
"DEFRA’s investigation concluded that the most likely cause was an algal bloom, but we have always recognised this is a complex area of science and have remained open to further research.
"That’s why it is right that all the evidence is now assessed by independent experts and I look forward to receiving their advice."
Professor Henderson said: "The death of a large number of crustaceans last year in North East England was unusual. The causes have been assessed, informed with a wide range of measurements, by Government agencies and by university researchers, with more than one explanation put forward to explain the deaths.
"The increased sea-life mortality has important consequences for local communities and it is important we understand its cause.
"I have discussed the issue with the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and look forward to working with him to convene a panel of relevant experts from outside government to re-examine all available data and consider this matter carefully."
It is not clear when the findings will be published, though the Government said panel would be asked to complete their work in a “timely fashion”.
The decision follows a Parliamentary hearing in October, which heard from a number of witnesses.
Welcoming the news, Mr Goodwill said: "We hope that with some independent scientists taking a fresh look we may get some answers."
He added: "We need the best people in the country looking at this and see which of these two theories is likely to have been the cause."
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