Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the remit is of the panel investigating the mass die-offs of marine life on the North East coast.

The remit of the Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel is to provide an independent scientific assessment of all the possible causes of the mass crustacean mortality incident in the northeast of England which occurred between September and December 2021 using all relevant available data.

The aims of the committee as set out in its terms of reference have been provided to EFRA and state that the panel will:

• scientifically review all the available evidence of the unusual crustacean mortality event.
• identify the most likely causes and implications for recurrence.

The scientific review will include, but will not be limited to, consideration of the theories put forward as a cause of this mass-mortality:

• the consequences of the breakdown of an algal bloom
• the impact of chemicals (including pyridine toxicity)
• the impact of maintenance dredging of shipping channels

The panel will focus on scientific issues and will not consider Government processes during the investigation of the mortality event(s), food safety, nor the economic implications of the deaths.