Dredging 'extremely unlikely' to have caused Hartlepool sea life deaths, says investigation

A mass die-off of marine life on the coastline from Hartlepool to Whitby between October and December 2021 saw dying creatures “twitching” and displaying lethargic behaviour.

Back in October 2021, Hartlepool resident Carl Clyne described seeing “well over a hundred” dead crabs while walking his dog at the beach in Seaton Carew.

An Environment Agency investigation later concluded that naturally occurring harmful algal bloom could have been responsible.

But a study carried out by academics at Durham, Newcastle, Hull and York universities, and backed by the fishing industry, suggested the incident could have been caused by industrial pollutant pyridine after River Tees dredging.

Now, however, a panel, made up of academics, industry experts, and chaired by Defra’s chief scientific adviser, has concluded that it was “about as likely as not” that a pathogen new to UK waters – a potential disease or parasite – caused the crab deaths.

The panel also found that it was “very unlikely” that the cause was pyridine or another toxic pollutant.

Tees Valley’s Tory elected mayor, Ben Houchen said afterwards: “Today’s report is thorough, conclusive and, as anyone would expect, we will follow the science.

“The wash-up in 2021 was devastating for our fishing community, one of our proudest industries with some of the most hard-working people on Teesside.

“Their industry has been ruined by a natural disaster and it is now essential Government steps up and supports them to recover from the events of October 2021.”