A COMMUNITY group campaigning against the dredging of Falmouth harbour has launched an online petition addressed to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), with signatures currently rising towards 600.

The Stop the Dredge appeal as timed to coincide with the town’s annual oyster festival, during which fishermen addressed audiences and voiced their fears for the industry if dredging went ahead as planned.

The new petition asks the MMO not to grant a marine licence unless independently verified safeguards are in place to protect fisheries and marine life; less harmful approaches to redeveloping the docks have been fully explored; and the public consultation is reopened, so local people can respond to environmental evidence submitted since it closed.

Stop the Dredge community organiser Rachel Parkes said: “Thousands of people from the local community do not want this dredge to go ahead. Many support the redevelopment of the docks, but oppose harmful dredging and inadequate consultation. They are also deeply concerned about the impacts of ‘mega’ cruise ships docking in Falmouth.

“Falmouth is a beautiful town with a rich heritage, a thriving ocean economy and protected wildlife - we cannot rush ahead with any decision that risks ruining that.”

Meanwhile, new analysis by Cornwall Wildlife Trust claims seabed sediment in the harbour is more contaminated with not only toxic contaminants including mercury, zinc, lead, and copper, but also more Tributyltin (TBT) than some of the UK’s biggest industrial ports, including Teesside, Tyneside, Plymouth and Portsmouth.

TBT was widely used in hull antifouling paint and is now banned internationally due to the severe threat it poses to human health and to marine life. Analysis of sediment samples taken by developers found three-quarters to be too toxic for disposal of at sea.

Local fishers complain they were not fully consulted by the MMO. Sixth generation oyster fisherman Patrick Vinnicombe said: “We have expert knowledge of tidal currents and winds, gained over many years, and we know how easily toxic sediment could drift well beyond the dredging site. But we’ve not been allowed to feed into a decision that could severely impact our livelihoods. That is simply wrong.”

He added: “This dredge could completely wipe us out. After a much smaller dredge in 2001, it was years before local fish stocks recovered.

“This weekend, thousands of people have arrived in Falmouth to celebrate its oysters, bringing thousands of pounds to the local economy. Any new development must ensure there is still an oyster fishery to celebrate in 10 years’ time.

Earlier this week, a group of engineers with floating offshore wind and marine backgrounds, including a former Pendennis Shipyard project manager, wrote an open letter to Jayne Kirkman MP questioning whether floating offshore wind (FLOW) justified the capital dredging proposed at Falmouth Docks. “In the absence of such published evidence, FLOW should not be presented as justification for dredging requirements that are driven by other industries, such as cruise and defence.”

The £150-million redevelopment plans to dredge almost 650,000 cubic metres of sediment, equivalent to more than 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The aim is to deepen berths to 10.5 metres, partly so much larger cruise and commercial vessels can dock, and to accommodate a quadrupling in the number of cruise passengers disembarking in Falmouth, to 200,000 a year.

Supporters of the dredging include the GMB trade union, which insists it is “absolutely vital” for the yard to be able to fulfil future orders – including work linked to the Royal Navy's new Type 26 frigate. National officer Matt Roberts said: “We urge the council to support these proposals, which are absolutely vital for Cornish jobs and UK shipbuilding.

“We want today’s workforce to know that there is a future for them in Falmouth, and we want young people growing up in Cornwall to know that they can build rewarding careers here without having to leave the county to find opportunities.”

A screening of ‘All Rivers Spill their Stories will take place at Pendennis Community Centre tomorrow (Saturday, October 10) at 6pm. The documentary follows a fisherman who led a grassroots campaign after a mass die-off of crabs and lobsters following dredging on the river Tees.

Tickets can be purchased at 99pfilms.com.