Britain | A marine puzzle

The mystery of the twitching crabs

A new pathogen is the most likely cause of a die-off in north-east England

Question mark over freeport in Tees Valley after ecological disaster puts communities in the north east of England at loggerheads with the government.The mystery of what caused the deaths has thrust small coastal communities in the north-east of England, into the centre of a national political drama.The Environment Agency, part of Defra, promised to investigate, pledging to send samples of water, sediment and crab for analysis, which they said would examine the theory that pollution was to blame. Then in February this year, the official answer came. Concerns that dredging work in September had disturbed toxic sediment in the River Tees were dismissed because there was "no evidence of a link" between that and the die-offs, Defra's report said. Instead, it concluded, the most likely factor was a "naturally occurring harmful algal bloom".Lobster Pots in seaside port town of Whitby in North Yorkshire. local fisherman and the community have suffered in the past year with large numbers deaths of crabs and lobsters which have been washed up all along the North East and North Yorkshire coastline. Fishing crews have noticed sparse catches and massive decline in their catches which have been ìcatastrophicî to their livelihoods. A recent investigation by the Environment Agency has identified a harmful algal bloom being of significance however local fisherman dispute this and suspect that licensed dredging and chemical contamination related to offshore windfarms are to blame.© Richard Saker / Guardian / eyevineContact eyevine for more information about using this image:T: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709E: info@eyevine.comhttp://www.eyevine.com
Image: Eyevine

“There’s still nowt to catch,” says Stan Rennie, a 61-year-old fisherman from Hartlepool. “We’ve never seen the like of it.” In October 2021 thousands of crabs—along with lobsters, whelks, razor clams and krill—began washing up dead on the coast of north-east England. Locals such as Mr Rennie, who has fished there since he was 13, call it “the die-off”.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The mystery of the twitching crabs”

Britain February 18th 2023

From the February 18th 2023 edition

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