‘We just want the truth’: British coastal towns fight for answers over mystery sealife deaths

Whitby in North Yorkshire, one of the coastal towns affected by mass sealife die-offs. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Stan Rennie has indelicate hands that aren’t good for typing. He’s not the kind of person who cares much for technology at all.

But over the last year, the fisherman has found himself spending less time outdoors and more time glued to his computer, tapping out stern emails to politicians and researching niche areas of environmental law. “It’s taken over his life,” his daughter Sarah, 36, says.