North East fishermen capture heart-breaking footage of blind gannet

The poor bird can be seen bobbing around in confused circles whilst surrounding seagulls launch themselves at mackerel thrown overboard by fishermen off the Whitby coast.

The upsetting incident comes amid increasing reports of dead seabirds being found across the UK, with avian flu being a possible cause.

But the North East fishing community firmly believes that dredging of the River Tees is releasing toxic chemicals into the North Sea which is devastating local marine life.

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This claim has previously been denied by DEFRA whose joint investigation into mass a crustacea death along the region’s coast in October concluded last month it was triggered by a naturally occurring algal bloom.

The authority says it is aware of wild bird deaths reported across England and these are currently under investigation as part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) on-going wild bird surveillance programme.

The RSPB believes the seabird deaths and ailments are linked to a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and has called on the government to put measures in place to better protect them.

A dead gannet at sea pictured by Jonathan Parkin

But Adrian Noble, who has been fishing off Whitby for 40-years since he was 15, said he has never seen anything like the devastation wreaked along the North East coastline in recent months and holds Tees dredging firmly responsible.

He said: “The gannets come alongside the boat and they are usually quick as a flash diving for the fish we throw – they beat the seagulls hands-down – and it is lovely to see, gannets are one of the most beautiful things to see in the world.

“But this one couldn’t see the fish at all and it was heart-breaking; I was saying to the lads how much it upset me.

“We think it has been diving through toxic chemicals and it has gone blind because of it.”

He added: “If one gannet dies, they usually leave a partner and a chick behind so really for every one death, there’s actually three.”

Fisherman Jonathan Parkin, who shot the video footage was also upset by the gannet’s apparent inability to feed itself.

Environmental group Ocean Rebellion staged a protest over the crustacean deaths at DEFRA's London HQ in April this year Picture: GUY REECE (Image: The Northern Echo)

Jonathan said: “I am 45 and I have done a lot in my life, I was in the Army for 23 years in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, all over.

“But when you see nature dying because of something that has been done by man, it is wrong on every level and something must be done.”

Crewmate Adrian is convinced that the region’s sealife is being poisoned by chemicals being dredged up from River Tees bed, saying that in his four decades’ fishing the region he has never once seen a dead gannet at sea – until now.

He said: “The Tees must be the most toxic river in the country and they are just dumping tonnes of mud from the bottom of it out at sea.

“There’ll be all sorts in there; mercury, arsenic, cyanide, it was all dumped in the river in the past.”

Adrian is scathing of the previous Defra-led investigation and accused the authorities of a ‘cover up’ over the true reason behind the coastline’s ailing and dying sealife.

Viewer discretion advised as the video may contain swearing

He said: “We don’t get the type of algal bloom they said it was.

“We know the ones we normally get, we call it ‘May water’ and it sinks down and sits on your pots but it never causes the deaths of crabs or seabirds.

“I have never seen anything like what’s been happening here in 40-years at sea.

“These so-called experts don’t know anything about the environment, they just sit in their offices and know nothing.

“We go out to sea, we look after our stocks and see it everyday and it has been absolutely devastating.”

Adrian said that last year razorbills were dying and he has heard reports of dead seals, porpoises and even dolphins in the region’s coastal waters.

He believes that lobster and crab stocks will take up to ten years to fully recover from the October wipeout and said the government needs to support fishermen and close fishing off the North East coastline for at least four years.

Dead crabs at Seaton Carew Picture: PA

He said: “We are talking about the future of the North Sea ecosystem here, that’s how serious this is.”

The RSPB says over the past few weeks large numbers of dead and dying seabirds have been seen across the UK, with Shetland appearing to be the most heavily affected.

It is believed that the birds have been infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

The RSPB’s director of conservation, Katie-Jo Luxton said the UK holds 56 per cent of the world’s gannet population which are amber listed as a species under threat from extinction.

She added: “Our seabirds are already under massive pressure from human impacts including climate change, lack of prey fish, deaths through entanglement in fishing gear and development pressure.

“There is now great concern for the impacts of bird flu on our already beleaguered wild birds.”

A spokesman for PD Ports said: "As the Statutory Harbour Authority for the River Tees, we are clearly concerned at the number of deceased crustaceans that appeared across North East beaches late last year.

"Throughout the investigation period, we have continued to work alongside the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the Environmental Agency (EA), DEFRA and other official bodies to provide all of the information that we have available to assist with their enquiries.

"All investigations have subsequently ruled out dredging activities as a possible cause and we understand that the latest findings from DEFRA point to a naturally occurring algal bloom.

"We are committed to the conservation of the River Tees and will continue to work within our duty and jurisdiction to preserve the river."

Anyone who comes across a dead or sick bird on the beach or elsewhere is advised not to touch it and to report it to DEFRA on 03459 335577.

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