A BBC documentary airing this evening (Friday, October 21) shines a spotlight on the fall-out from the mass crustacean deaths along the North East coastline.
The 30-minute programme, ‘We Are England: Trouble at Sea’, follows the local community including Whitby fishermen and an environmental campaigner as they discuss the mass wipeout of shellfish that started in October 2021.
The programme examines what happened as many in the fishing community remain firm in their belief that it was caused by PD Ports’ dredging of the River Tees releasing toxic chemicals into the North Sea.
Since the washup, fishermen have reported vastly reduced catches of lobster and crab, while Teesside, Hartlepool and North Yorkshire beaches have been littered with shellfish carcasses.
In the BBC documentary, sixth generation Whitby fisherman James Cole says: “I am really proud of our fishing heritage, I am a bit sad that it could all end pretty sharply with how things are going.
Read more: Kids queue outside North East ASDA at 6am as energy drink craze hits the region
“We didn’t believe it at first off Whitby, within weeks it had crept along the coast and it was happening to us and it was like, ‘my God what is happening here’.
"It was frightening.”
Joe Redfern, who is behind the Whitby Lobster Hatchery also appears on the programme, reiterating his belief that the toxic chemical pyridine was responsible for the washup.
This was the conclusion of an independent report commissioned by the North East Fishing Collective which stood at odds with Defra’s findings that a naturally occurring algal bloom had killed the shellfish.
In July, Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham called on the government to compensate fishermen affected by the mass crustacea deaths and grilled Defra minister Victoria Prentis on the issue.
Read more: Fresh calls to re-open investigation into mass crustacean deaths on North-East coast
PD Ports has defended its dredging operation in the programme, with chief operating officer and vice chair Jerry Hopkinson appearing on the documentary.
In it, he says that the Tees is dredged ‘constantly’ and the activity around the time of the crustacea washup was within the licenced depths and subsequent testing of the water revealed no elevated toxicity.
However, he did acknowledge the strong feelings of fisherman saying: “I have sat with the fishermen, I have listened to guys ask me the question ‘did you get paid last month because I didn’t; I didn’t earn anything’.
“So I do understand why people are looking for something to blame.”
Trouble at Sea will be shown this evening on October on BBC One at 19.30pm and is transmitted regionally in Lincolnshire, the North West and Yorkshire.
It also airs on BBC One’s HD channel and will be available to watch on iPlayer.
Read next:
- Wedding and engagement rings among items worth thousands stolen from BMW
- Full list of Darlington venues doing three-course meals for £20 and under next week
- On the picket line as North East factory workers stage strike over pay
If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here