Fishermen to stage protest on River Tees over sea life deaths

FISHERMEN along the Teesside and North Yorkshire coast will stage a protest over the lack of support for their livelihoods as dead sea life continues to wash up on the shores.

People from Hartlepool, Redcar, Scarborough and Whitby will travel to South Gare beach on Thursday morning and sail from a dredge spoil site located two miles offshore to the River Tees.

They are due to display banners, flares and flags in protest of the crisis, which was first reported in October 2021, and have issued a stark warning declaring “if the sea dies we died”. Activists from local organisations including Surfers Against Sewage, Ocean Rebellion and British Divers Marine Life Rescue are due to attend.

DEFRA, a government department, concluded that a naturally occurring harmful algal bloom was the most likely cause of the incident after an investigation between October-December 2021. It ruled out other causes such as chemical pollution, sewage, animal disease, and dredging.

However, a contradictory review of the evidence published by independent consultant, Tim Deere-Jones, claims it was more likely to be the chemical Pyridine which was found by the Environment Agency in high levels within dead sea-life. The consultant and local fishermen believe the cause of the mass deaths is because of 250,000 tonnes of dredged sediment in the River Tees.