Scientists say pollution not cause of UK mass crab deaths

LONDON (AP) — British scientists say they don’t think pollution killed thousands of crabs that washed up on beaches in northeast England in late 2021. The crustaceans were found dead or dying along more than 70 kilometers (44 miles) of coastline. Some displayed unusual “twitching” while in the throes of death. Environmentalists suspected toxins released by dredging to expand a port in Teesside, a heavily industrial area. But a panel of scientists and industry experts set up by the British government said it found no evidence pollutants were to blame. The group concluded on Friday it was “about as likely as not” that a pathogen new to U.K. waters caused the unusual die-off.