No compensation for North East fishermen after mass die-off of crabs in North Sea
The government has said fishermen who say they have been affected by the mass die-off of crabs in the North Sea will not get compensation.
A letter from Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs also said the government would be undertaking no further analysis to discover the cause of the deaths, which started happening in October 2021.
A mass die-off of marine life along 70km of the coastline from Hartlepool to Whitby saw crustaceans washed ashore between October and December 2021, with dying creatures “twitching” and displaying lethargic behaviour.
An independent panel commissioned to look at possible causes said last month it could not definitively conclude why the crabs had died.
Ms Coffey said: "Given the extent of the analytical work already undertaken, and further advice, I have decided that it is highly unlikely that we will find the cause and so no further analysis will be undertaken by the government."
What were the conclusions of the independent panel?
It considered a range of causes, including a potential disease or parasite, a harmful algal bloom, chemical toxicity including pyridine, and dredging which could have released a toxic chemical.
It said it was “as likely as not” that a pathogen new to UK waters, which could be a potential disease or parasite, caused the crab deaths.
It is unlikely that a harmful algal bloom or that a loss of oxygen in the water associated with the algal bloom caused the crab deaths.
It is very unlikely that pyridine or another toxic pollutant caused the crab deaths.
It is very unlikely that maintenance dredging, as required to keep the port open, was the cause
It is extremely unlikely that capital dredging, which started a year after the die-off, could have been a cause
Ms Coffey went on to say the landings data assessment indicated landings in late 2021 were broadly in line with historic data, and a significant reduction was not observed in October and November 2021, though she added it did not preclude the possibility that some fishing grounds suffered "significant mortality".
She said: "There is no question of the government providing any compensation or specific support, however the UK Government currently provides a range of support to the English seafood sector through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) and the £100 million UK Seafood Fund."
Responding, Joe Redfern, of the North East Fishing Collective, said: "It's shocking there's going to be no support given that for fishermen in Hartlepool and Redcar it's basically game over.
"It's complete annihilation of the marine life and fish stocks around there. It's a really sad state that could be the end of a historic fishing industry in the North East.
"For the government to come out and say there's going to be no support, and no further investigation is really shocking."
Sir Robert Goodwill, chair of the Environment Committee, and Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby, said:“The cause seems to have been narrowed down to a new disease not previously observed. Certainly, dredging has been ruled out.
"If further recently affected crabs are washed up then we may have a chance of identifying this new disease.
“It is disappointing that the Secretary of State doesn’t recognise the devastating effect this has had on inshore fishermen but I hope ways can be found to use some of the £100m Fisheries and Seafood Scheme to help these people rebuild."
A Defra spokesperson said: “An independent panel of experts from 10 leading marine science organisations has published a detailed report, concluding a novel pathogen may have caused the crustacean mortality in the North East from October 2021.
“Whilst no further analysis is planned, the extensive analytical work that has already been undertaken means we can further improve our response to any future incident, and the Environment Agency and government scientists at Cefas stand ready to respond.”
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