Jeanie Finlay Documentary Examines the Teesside Crustacean Die-Off and Fishers’ Fight for Truth

Thousands of dead and dying crustaceans washed ashore along the coasts of Yorkshire and north-east England on 25 September 2021, launching an ecological and economic crisis for local fishing communities that is now the subject of a critically acclaimed documentary. In All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, director Jeanie Finlay charts the campaign led by Teesside fisher Stan Rennie to uncover the truth behind the mass die-offs.

Dead Crabs and Disappearing Marine Life Along the Teesside Coast

Early morning walkers and swimmers discovered a thick layer of twitching, fitting crabs on the beaches in late 2021. The catastrophe eliminated native sea life across an extended coastal stretch, killing seal pups and decimating the local fishing industry. Rennie recalled pulling up his lobster pots that day to find only dead lobsters in there. We just knew that there was something wrong, he said. Within a couple of days, the life had disappeared totally.

Hours before the initial die-off, a major dredging operation took place in the mouth of the River Tees. The work disturbed riverbed sediment containing decades-old toxic pollutants from heavy industry. While authorities attributed the deaths to an algae bloom and later a novel pathogen, local fishers rejected those findings. Rennie formed the North East Fishing Collective (NEFC) alongside about 60 other fishers to fight for answers.

Clashing Accounts Over the River Tees Dredging and Redevelopment

The disaster exposed deep divisions between local workers and regional officials. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, now the Conservative Lord Houchen, oversaw the rapid demolition of the old steelworks—including the largest UK explosion in 75 years—and the construction of the Teesside Freeport project. Houchen denied any causal link between the dredging and the marine deaths, dismissing the fishers as activists and refusing contact with them.

Rennie and his supporters maintain that official denials mask a cover-up. The fishers have been joined by scientific experts, including Dr Sue Wilson from Tara Seal Research, chemist Dr Simon Gibbon, and marine biologist Dr Gary Caldwell. Finlay noted that public officials use their massive platforms to tell stories that completely contradict lived experiences.

Critical Acclaim and Public Backing for the Fight for Truth

Finlay’s documentary has won early film festival gongs at Bristol and the Mediterrane, earning praise from critic Mark Kermode as a life-affirming treat – funny, poignant and profound. Tina Brown compared Rennie to the next Mr Bates, highlighting how working people are left to fight uncaring institutions. Finlay acknowledged that the success of the ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office helped her gain the trust of local fishers who initially resisted filming.

Public support has materialized through significant financial backing for independent scientific testing. The NEFC raised £100,000 for their campaign through public donations, with strangers contributing across the country. For strangers who aren’t from the area to have that same reaction, it blows your mind, Rennie said.