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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department has given to fishermen and coastal communities affected by the mass deaths of crustacea on the Tees Valley coast.

Defra has regularly updated stakeholders and attended a public meeting on 14 December with the industry and its representatives. This gave an opportunity for industry to raise concerns and to hear actions taken to date as part of the multi-agency response to ascertain and address any potential cause for the mortality. Advice to fishermen and coastal communities has been provided in relation to food safety and hygiene practice, and we remain in close contact with fishermen and others to fully understand the impacts of the incident.