‘Overnight, everything was dead’: the Teeside fisherman turned activist dubbed the Mr Bates of the seas
When thousands of dying crabs washed up on a Yorkshire beach in 2021, Stan Rennie’s livelihood was immediately threatened. Five years later, he’s leading the fight back against toxic ocean pollution – and corporate coverups It was an otherwise typical day on 25 September 2021 when thousands of dead and dying crustaceans washed up on beaches in Yorkshire and the north-east of England. Early…
In September 2021, a shocking event unfolded along the Yorkshire and northeast England coast: thousands of dead and dying crabs washed up on the beaches. This was just the beginning of a series of die-offs that would decimate integral native sea life and the local fishing industry. The authorities attributed the cause to an algae bloom and a novel pathogen, but the local fishers, such as Stan Rennie, believed otherwise.
They considered the event to be caused by toxic ocean pollution and the impact of a nearby dredging operation in the River Tees. Rennie, a fisher and father of the North East Fishing Collective, has been on a mission to uncover the truth behind the die-offs for the past five years. With the help of documentary filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, Rennie and a team of scientists and activists are searching for answers and fighting against corporate coverups and uncaring authorities.
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