Public inquiry and compensation needed for fishers impacted by shellfish deaths - The Yorkshire Post says

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it “will not be providing compensation or specific support to fishermen” affected.

This is despite North Yorkshire Council in May passing a motion calling on the Government to offer financial support and establish a public inquiry into the “unexplained die-offs and wash-ups” of crustaceans since October 2021.

To refuse to recognise the pain and suffering of the fishing community and to recompense them for it is to treat them with contempt.

These are the people who put food on the tables of British families. And they do not warrant being cast adrift when their livelihoods have been impacted by unexplained die-offs.

However, Sir Robert Goodwill is wrong to say that there shouldn’t be a public inquiry into the die-off. There are still many unanswered questions around the die-off. And communities impacted by these events deserve an investigation into these incidents.

Especially if the scientific evidence is less than conclusive on the novel pathogen being blamed for the die-off. Indeed even experts who were on the panel that assessed the cause of the die-offs have said more work can be done to establish a clear cause of the deaths. That is why North Yorkshire Council is right to call on Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey to convene a public inquiry.