The Liberal Democrats shared with News their study of Environment Agency statistics, which showed a 20% increase in the amount of polluted water entering English seas compared to 159,000 hours in 2022.
The hours of sewage dumping were spread across 23,000 separate incidents – a slight fall from the previous year, but still an average of 64 times a day.
Some fishing waters in Cornwall were forced to close last year when high levels of e.coli were identified in oysters and mussels, and norovirus may also be spread via human feces.
The fishing industry has dubbed the situation a “stitch-up” because it pays for the process even though it can typically clean its catch before it reaches the plate.
Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: “This environmental scandal is putting wildlife at risk of unimaginable levels of pollution.
