SPECIAL REPORT
Words by DAVE BARHAM
CRUSTACEAN CARNAGE IN THE NORTHEAST
A recent study has linked the deaths of thousands of crabs and lobsters to dredging in the River Tees. Dave Barham investigates, and asks what it means for sea angling
BACK AND FORTH
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f you’re on Facebook, then you’ll probably remember the posts and pictures of thousands of dead crabs and lobsters lining the Northeast shoreline back in October. It all began with several sea birds dropping dead, followed by the mass deaths of crustaceans, and then dog walkers reporting their pets becoming ill after walking the same beaches. There has been much speculation throughout the following months on what is actually causing it – yes, there are still loads of crabs and lobsters being found washed up, even now. However, a recent independent report published by the Northeast Fishing Collective, a group of commercial fishing associations, angling societies and stakeholders along the Northeast coast, assimilates the cause of mass mortalities to a specific chemical – Pyridine.
ALGAL BLOOM
A multi-agency investigation led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently concluded that the mass crustacean deaths, which the fishing industry says has threatened their livelihoods and led to fears of a collapsing ecosystem, “potentially resulted from a naturally occurring harmful algal bloom”.
NO EVIDENCE
Tim Deere-Jones, an independent marine pollution consultant and author of the report, said there was “no empirical evidence to support the theory that it’s got anything SEA ANGLER ISSUE 607
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to do with an algal bloom”. Deere-Jones, who has 30 years of experience investigating marine pollution events around the world, instead said the data obtained via freedom of information requests from Defra and other agencies, linked the mass mortalities to a specific chemical, pyridine.
WHAT IS PYRIDINE?
Pyridine is a hazardous chemical with various uses in industry, agriculture and antifouling for marine vessels. Pyridine is released into the environment as a waste product from industrial processes such as steel manufacture, processing of oil shale, coal gas production, coking plants and incinerators and from marine antifouling and anticorrosion applications.
While Defra said that “any levels [of pyridine] detected in crab tissue are likely to be linked to biological processes and not necessarily from the environment”, DeereJones pointed out that samples from control crabs collected in Penzance had just under 6mg per kilogram of the toxic chemical, the Saltburn crabs were found to have more than 400mg per kilogram. That’s not a natural level, that’s a human impact level! The report details how dredging has caused resuspension of polluted sediments in the marine environment. The UKD Orca hopper dredger conducted a years’ worth of dredging in 10 days, dropping 250,000 tonnes of sediment on the spoil grounds just two miles out to sea. This has increased the bio-availability of any chemical, heavy metal or hydrocarbon pollutants attached to the sediments.
BAD NEWS
The Northeast Fishing Collective say they have all been “dramatically impacted by the recent events on the east coast. Their incomes have been slashed, our livelihoods under threat and our environments eroded.” Commercial fishermen from Hartlepool to Scarborough say their catch of crab and lobsters remains 80 to 95 per cent down and dead crabs and lobsters were reported in Saltburn and Maske at the time of writing (early February), which they say is unlikely to have been caused by an algal bloom back in October. n
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR RECREATIONAL SEA ANGLERS?
Well, as we all know, the Northeast coast is famous for its cod fishing, and what do cod like to feed on inshore? Yes, crabs. If the crabs keep dying, that’s one of the cod’s food sources disappearing and they will move elsewhere to find food. I’m not even going to begin to think what is, or could, be happening to the cod in the area if they’re eating shellfish that’s loaded with pyridine – if it’s making sea birds and dogs sick, it could well be bad news for the local fish population too. Then, of course, there is local bait collection. No peelers in the spring? Are the worm beds affected? This debate is going to keep running for some time I would imagine, and all the while there is still masses of wildlife dying along the shores of the Northeast. We’ll keep you updated with any new developments, but in the meantime please head to the website below to find out more and discover what you can do to help. n The full report and narrative can be found at: www.whitbyseaanglers.com
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