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According to a new study, the die-off of crustaceans on the north-eastern coast of England may have been caused by industrial pollution.
In October of 2021, tens of thousands of dead crabs and lobsters washed up on the North Yorkshire coast and further south in the fishing town of Whitby. The deaths were investigated by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.
There were more dead crabs on the coast. The fishing communities of Hartlepool told the BBC in June that they were worried about their businesses failing because of the fall in catch numbers.
No single factor could be identified as the cause of the deaths. Satellite imagery showed a rapid increase in the population of algae in the area. The report found that the bioaccumulation of pyridine, which is used as anti-corrosive treatment in marine infrastructure, was not to blame for the deaths.
John Bothwell is a professor at the University of Durham. The evidence for the deaths was circumstantial. There is a lot of good stuff in the report, but the satellite imagery shows the presence of chlorophyll, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
He reached out to the North East Fishing Collective to raise money for the study. The effects of pyridine on crabs were tested by bothwell and his colleagues. Dredging can affect water bodies with pollutants.
It is thought that the deaths are more likely to be caused by pyridine pollution than by an algal bloom. It doesn't affect crabs in a preferential way. He said that the toxins found in the crabs weren't usually associated with blooms.
According to the report, pyridine pollution may be to blame for the deaths of crab and lobsters. The dead crabs had high concentrations of pyridine in their systems, and the researchers found a high concentration of pyridine in the ocean. They found that pyridine causes twitching in the crustaceans before they die, which is similar to what was observed earlier in the year.
It's not clear how pyridine accumulates in crustaceans. The high levels of the chemical don't necessarily mean that the crabs and lobsters died. He says thatpyridine could be a marker. There could be more than one factor here.
Industrial plants in the region could be responsible for the high levels of pyridine in the water.
In September and October of 2021, the mouth of the river was dredged. The material was dumped into the water and may have contained something.
More dredge work began last month to clear the way for the new Teesside Freeport, which will cover an area of 1800 hectares.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds called for a scientific analysis to be conducted to rule out the cause of crustacean deaths in the north-eastern region.
Testing for chemicals and pollutants such as pyridine was part of a comprehensive investigation last year. The most likely cause of the deaths of crustaceans was a naturally occurring bloom.
We didn't find any evidence to suggest that this was a likely cause. They say that there are no materials licensed for disposal at sea in the area.
We took a thorough, evidence-based approach because of the complexity of the problem. We are happy with the research carried out by universities and will continue to work with them. There have been reductions in catch rates in the area, and we are keeping an eye on the population.
The researchers who conducted the study will be meeting with Defra.
It is necessary to find out what is happening so that it doesn't happen elsewhere in the UK.
There are more on this topic.