Waters containing shellfish suffer from 200,000 hours worth of sewage 

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Waters containing shellfish suffer from 200,000 hours worth of sewage 

• Amount of sewage spilled into shellfish water jumps by a fifth

• South West Water and Southern Water sewage discharges into shellfish water doubles

• Liberal Democrats call for urgent action and increased testing

This year saw a large jump in the number of hours sewage was discharged into waters containing shellfish, Liberal Democrat analysis of Environment Agency data shows.

Last year, high levels of E.coli were discovered in oysters and mussels In Cornwall, leading to the closure of 11 shellfish fishing waters, with the Environment Agency blaming sewage discharges. 

Now, it has been revealed that water firms in England discharged 192,248 hours worth of sewage into shellfish areas, up 21% from the year before (158,797 hours).

The worst offender was South West Water, which doubled the hours of sewage dumped into shellfish water from 49,863 in 2022, to 98,149 last year. Their total sewage spills into these designated areas also rose to a staggering 12,927.

Southern Water also doubled the hours of sewage discharged into these areas, to 72,943 hours this year. 

Since 2020, there have been 108,360 sewage spills into shellfish designated waters.

Some of the country's best known fishing areas have been hit by these dumps. The longest spills recorded were:

• Chichester Harbour: A total of 6542 hours of sewage discharged over 286 spills 

• Exe: A total of 4089 hours of sewage discharged over 214 spills

• Morecambe Bay: A total of 3927 hours of sewage discharged over 223 spills

The Liberal Democrats have called for an urgent investigation into water quality in shellfish habitats, as well as a clampdown of sewage being discharged into waters used by the fishing industry. 

Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, Tim Farron MP said:

“This environmental scandal is putting wildlife at risk of unimaginable levels of pollution. The food we eat, and the British fisheries industry, must be protected from raw sewage. 

“The public will be rightly furious that England’s precious shellfish, including lobsters and crabs, are also being subjected to filthy sewage dumping.

“We need the Environment Agency to carry out an emergency investigation into the water quality of shellfish habitat. Ministers need to clampdown on water firms polluting fishing waters. It is a national scandal that this Conservative government is letting water firms destroy shellfish habitat. It is getting worse on their watch and there will be real concerns for the fishing industry if this trend continues.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

First reported by Sky News

Analysis of Environment Agency data here.