06/02/2013 Spotlight

The mystery solved. What caused hundreds of seabirds to be washed

up along our coastline? The substance is non-toxic but

scientists warned that they could contaminate many more words for

months to come. Also tonight, the biggest shake-up in history of

fisheries policy. Europe agrees sweeping reforms, including banning

the practice of throwing back dead fish. This is a culture that has to

change. We have to incentivise fisherment to fish in a more

sustainable way. This is a big step along the way to achieving that.

And what lies beneath? The valuable legacy of tin mining which is

dividing opinion in Cornwall. A BBC investigation in conjunction with

scientists at Plymouth University has managed to identify the mystery

substance that's affected hundreds of seabirds along the region's

coast. More than 300 birds, mostly guillemots, but also some

razorbills and auks, are being treated at the RSPCA West Hatch

centre near Taunton after being contaminated by the substance.

Spotlight's Andy Breare reports. For the last few days, scientists

at the University of Plymouth have been analysing the mysterious

substance in the hope of not only have been to find it but helping to

find out just where it came from. Today they revealed their findings.

The data supports the identification of this as

polyisobutene. It is a routine additive that is added to lubricate

oils to prove their function and quality. It is transported around

the world. It is a very sticky substance, it is a semi solid and

it acts on the feathers of the birds like glue, really. At the

RSPCA centre in a West Hatch, near Taunton, work is continuing to

clean and care for around 300 seabirds that have been affected in

the last week. Staff at the centre welcome the University's research.

Write down we're doing what we're going to continue to do. -- right

now. That is going to stay the same based on their identification of

what it is. Long-term, it is crucial. We will look back at this,

analyse the event and how we dealt with the birds. Will make reference

to what we were dealing with later on. The University's research makes

from unpleasant environmental reading. The success takes a long

time to biodegrade, which means that more seabirds could still be

affected by the same spillage. is quite big as a molecule and

difficult for bacteria and other weathering processes to break down.

Residue will probably stay around, although hopefully not in this mass

that polluted the birds. But yes, it is probably going to be there

for some time, I would suggest. University's findings have been

passed on to the RSPCA and Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the hope

that the vessel responsible can be a identified and action can be

taken. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are now assessing Plymouth

University's findings. Earlier I asked the MCA's head of counter-

pollution whether the discharge of this substance was permitted.

it is on certain occasions, allowed to be discharged into the sea. The

maritime pollution regulations make an exception for this and they can

take some of the residue from the bulk carrying tanks, so under

stringent conditions it can be released into the auction, outside

12 miles from the nearest point of land, and then very small

concentrations. Bearing in mind the extent of the pollution - we had

reports of birds being washed up all the way from Cornwall along to

the coast of Hampshire, is it your view that Hoover was stumping this

is doing it within the parameters you set out, or not? We have no

idea. We don't know the location. The birds are spread out along much

of the south coast and we have had reports from as far afield as

Belgium although we're not sure if it is the same contaminant. We

don't have enough information to allow us to localise the problem to

decide how much of this contaminant was in the water. What I am trying

to get to is that what the parameters that you have described,

surely the consequence should not be that hundreds of sea birds

should be affected if it should only be small amounts released into

the sea. If it was a permissible discharge then the amount that

would be discharged is extremely small, and the concentrations would

be extremely small. It could be highly unlikely that this would

result in the sort of contamination that we have seen. Again, it is all

part of this very complex problem, which we have got to tackle,

sometimes in parallel with information requests, and sometimes

in sequins. At the moment we are in the data gathering phrase to try

and narrowed down the precise characteristics and possible areas

of pollution that we are looking The reforms will put an end to a

cost of Russia practice of discarding dead -- - fit fish back

into the sea following high-profile campaigns from celebrity chefs. It

is a site that has long angered environmentalists. Perfectly good

fish being thrown back into the sea, dead. Sometimes you to the quota

limits and sometimes just not popular on police. TV chef Hugh

Fearnley-Whittingstall has been leading a campaign encouraging the

public to eight different species of fish to stop these being wasted.

The South West has been leading the way in eliminating this cards. The

trawler fleet uses carefully designed gear to help eliminate

this card before they might even get to the boat. We have also seen

a lot of progress generally, so the vote today is good news for West

Country fishermen, for sure. There is a move away from the quota

system to a maximum sustainable yield. This will place a limit on

the cash for each species are based on how quickly their stocks

replenished. There are plans for new funding to support smaller,

coastal fishing fleets. It is generally in our favour and most

fishermen, ones they have had a chance to look at what has happened,

to be able to digest what has happened, will be able to look at

it and say that this is either a good thing or it is not, but

predominantly, a move in this direction has got to be good.

has come at a time when smaller police are trying to wrestle more

control of their fisheries, balancing commercial needs with

those of marine conservation. The fishermen here in Lyme Bay have

come up with their own code of conduct which they believe could be

a way forward, which could promote sustainability and protect their

Our Political Editor Martyn Oates joins us now live from Westminster.

So quite a lot of celebration today, Martyn? There has been intense

lobbying of MPs to bought through these proposals and also opposition

within the European Parliament, people who agree that discards are

wrong and need to stop but that this needs to be phased in slowly

so that the fishing industry can adapt more easily to the new

situation. MEP Plummer voted by almost four to one to get on with

the job immediately. Who will this isn't the end of the story, is

it? Unlike the parliament across the road at the European Parliament

does not have the power to make these decisions single-handedly. It

shares that power with the Council of Ministers who represent each

member state. They might have referred it back to the Council of

Ministers, and these two bodies need to Hank-Cameron out some kind

of agreement. There is opposition to it from big fishing states like

Spain and France. One British MEP said that this is simply the end of

the beginning, and that there are still yawning gaps in the issues

contested by the parties involved in these negotiations. A company

which wants to recover thousands of tons of tin from the sea off the

Cornish coast says it will bring 100 jobs and help boost the

county's economy. But, environmental campaigners say the

project could affect beaches and harm wildlife. Survey work is due

to start off the North Cornwall coast in a few weeks. David George

has this report. This is the usual image of Cornwall's mining legacy.

But, out there beneath the waves, there was something left over from

hundreds of years of mining - thick deposits containing fine acting,

too small to be recovered that the mind, and allowed to drain into

rivers. Even there, the old miners' strike to recover it. By 1870s

there were 4010 streaming France working the Red River including one

right down year on the beach. And it was the material they missed

that was washed out to see that the new company wants to recover.

amounts have been brought to the surface and dressed, sometimes

efficiently, sometimes inefficiently. Quite a lot of pin

was lost down into the red river. The company says that there could

be at least 100 jobs, and more for suppliers and contractors. They

want to remove the sediment, remove that endearing Material then return

the waste to the Connecticut war. They claimed it is not dredging.

We're not going to just be scraping the top with a vacuum. We're going

to be digging the depth of the deposit, so it is going to have a

limited footprint over a period of time. It has much less

environmental impact than had dredging operation. Sand is a vital

for surfing. There is the regeneration of pollutants. When

you disrupt sediment, pollutants into the environment again

endangering water users and the environment again. Finally, we are

talking about flora and fauna, the animals that live off the seabed

and feed off it, can be impacted dramatically. By a public

consultation and impact assessment will be done before the

Government's money management organisation decides if the project

can be licensed. -- marine �10 million of cuts in council

services are being outlined by the Mayor of Torbay tonight. Critics

say that, per head of population, the cuts will be among the highest

in the south west. Gordon Oliver wants to freeze Council Tax bills.

But as Hamish Marshall reports, some tourism services and pre-

school education are among areas where savings will be made. On a

sunny day you can see why the Torbay coastline is so popular with

tourists. But, could how the council spends his budget hit the

region's biggest industry? The Maja's plan to cut C6 staffing

could make beaches less attractive to visitors. One of the effects of

cutting staff at beaches could mean that we are no longer able to

display blue flags which could have a knock-on effect on tourism

business. We're having to cut budgets for the tourism company

that could have knock-on effects on the number of visitors. That is the

conundrum facing Torbay council. Gordon Oliver will outline how he's

going to save �10 million, ironically, within a building that

the council has already sold off. Parents at this nursery in Brixham

could be at the sharp end of saving money. It is in line to close this

summer, just six years after opening, because of falling numbers.

It is going to be something that will not be possible, that is gone,

getting this respite care. Parents are angry that the nursery has not

been allowed to advertise for new youngsters. Parents might have to

go outside Brixham for childcare. Other parents might consider having

to give up work. It is a lovely community to live in and an

important community, and I hope that the mere will see that, if it

closes, you'll be closing Brixham to young working families. The man

in charge of children's services told me that there are enough spare

places to cope with most of the displaced youngsters, and that the

chestnut nursery was losing too much money. That �80,000 could be

used elsewhere for the most abominable children and that is

where we have to make those difficult decisions outside the

budget - could that money be spent in a better way? The mayor says

that he does not believe people in Torbay can afford a rise in council

tax, so the council will quick ham -- quite simply have to do less.

Still to come on Spotlight tonight: a sports star of the future. The

Devon teenager already on track to be a world class athlete. And meet

the apprentices - we'll be following their fortunes as they

start work at Pendennis Shipyard. Cornwall's out of hours GP service

has been told action is needed to speed up the time in which calls

are answered and urgent patients get a clinical assessment. In an

otherwise good Care Quality Commission report, the SERCO-run

service is considered not to be meeting the standard required for

staffing levels in its call centre. The number of hate crimes recorded

against transgender people in Devon and Cornwall has tripled over the

last year. Police say there were nine incidents last year compared

to three the year before and just one in 2010. Scott Bingham has more

details. Emily Dodds set up a support group for Trans gender

people in Cornwall in 2011. She says, having been the victim of

abuse, she understands how difficult it can be. I was out, and

I was assured to that and called names, and why was I acting in a

particular way, when I was supposed to be a woman. Police say he trains

come in many forms including criminal damage, verbal and social

media abuse. The making too strong four in 2011, to 13, last year.

Three people were charged and three people were sentence between 2010-

2012. Devon and Cornwall police are starting to take the strain against

crass gender people seriously. are in dialogue with the police at

the general level and the independent advisory group level.

We're trying to get involved in their training. We understand we

are going to roll out to all the officers, more diversity training.

A police spokesman said they take all incidents very seriously and

are becoming more professional at dealing with these sorts of crimes.

Emily says that the hope is that one day, Trans gender people will

be treated the same as other minority groups. We have come out

of the cupboard, and we're not prepared to stay quite any more! --

quiet. A 14 year-old from Devon is hoping to follow in the footsteps

of Olympic pentathlete Heather Fell. Teenager Kerenza Bryson from

Plymouth won three national titles last year, and has just been

accepted on the World Class Talent Programme. Spotlight's Janine

Jansen has been to meet her. Remember this name. Kerenza Bryson.

She was inspired by the Olympic silver medallist from Tavistock,

Heather fell. -- Fell. She did a talk at the Dartmoor triathlon. And

it really inspired me. She recently won a scholarship to Plymouth

College. Her coach has high hopes. She has won the national triathlon

and heptathlon and pentathlon for the age group. And we think that is

the first time anybody has won all three in might the same year.

has been put on the world-class talent programme. They phoned me up

yesterday and said that I had got a letter, that I had not caught on,

but she was just joking. So why was very happy. Running, riding,

shooting, swimming and fencing. Why did she choose such it demanding

sport? I have never been very strong in separate events. I really

enjoyed how there are five different sports, and you have to

work very hard to keep all of them up. Something that is going to keep

the interest it. With up to 25 hours' training a week, there is no

time for Oldham, and her next game, the European Championships, of

course. -- for boredom. Apprenticeships for young people in

the south west have undergone a renaissance in recent years. At

Pendennis shipyard in Falmouth they've been running a scheme for

15 years, and now a third of the workforce are former apprentices.

In a series of reports on Spotlight we'll be following four of the

youngsters from their first day to their eventual graduation. Greg

Wade has been to meet them. I'll more of a hands-on type of person.

It didn't want to have to pay to go to university. I am more into the

electrical site. -- side. This morning was a bit boring. I

struggled to find my way yeah. After that it has been brilliant.

All the guys are a good laugh, and have been trying to play tricks on

us. It is amazing to get given his first chance yet -- let alone to

come into the whole apprenticeship. It is amazing. In the end, I'm

getting paid for it. I feel as if I have become more successful than

the apprenticeship then I would have done going to university. It

is quite exciting, really. I am doing what I want to do for the

next four years at least and hopefully, longer. It is a

culmination of all their efforts at school. Many of them have been

dreaming and thinking about this day for tour three years, so to be

sitting here today ahead of the other one had ridden 40 applicants,

I am sure they are building on top of the world. I find it really

exciting. It is a little bit like Big Brother. Taking on these 10-15

young people, lock them in a room for four years, and see what comes

out at the end -, so it is very Basic cover the skills, welding and

fabrication, Level 2 Engineering. - The teacher is like one of us,

really, so it is a good laugh. There has been a decline in

engineering apprenticeship programmes so we are building up

that skill shortage and bringing in that young people is going to solve

that skills gap and hopefully increase manufacturing in Cornwall.

It is good to learn the skills. When I joined I was only 15. I got

into the apprenticeships by about one week. We look very carefully at

them for the first six months. And if we spot any problems developing,

we might lose be no lack in that time. It might be someone who, we

do not conform to what they want, or the other way around. It will be

interesting to see how they get on and we will continue to follow the

apprentices and find out how they got on in the first six months in

the job. Time now for the weather forecast. You will not have to hold

onto your hat quite as much as in the last couple of days. Winds are

dropping. It is a slow, gradual process. The wind is becoming quite

a overnight tonight. Having said that, there are still some showers

dotted around. The strength of wind we have seen in the last 24 hours

has been impressive, with 71 mph gusts of wind in Devon. Many

coastal locations it seemed the Tonight, quite dry and chilly. That

Arctic air is giving us quite a frost. That is already happening

now. Some showers dotted around. This line of cloud is the next band

of rain heading for us, possibly towards the end of tomorrow. We

have a clear sky stretching from Spain through Brittany to the NEC.

That will be fine, clear weather tonight. -- to the Irish Sea.

Effectively for the rest of us, we have a ridge of high pressure. This

system is a moving gradually across asked during the day tomorrow.

Parts of Somerset and Dorset could see some sleet and snow. That is

still be around on Friday as a weak teacher. On Saturday, we have a

ridge of high pressure. And then this weather system will bring more

wind and rain across us. Lots of clear sky now, with the exception

of that stream of showers. For the rest of us, it is going to become

frosty. Temperatures as low as minus and the like, perhaps as low

as minus two. Mentors, continuing to drop. -- winds continuing to

drop. By the term we get to tomorrow afternoon, this patchy

rain will spread across the South West of England. On the leading-

edge, perhaps some sleet or West's No with some snow possible over

Dartmoor and Exmoor. -- wet snow. Winds later, so despite the rain,

feeling a little bit warmer. After playing start in the Isles of

Scilly, clouding over with patchy If you're heading for the beach

there are rough seas and choppy conditions on the north coast. The

Quite a mixture to come over the next five days. On Friday, expect

to see a lot of cloud. Some brief glimpses of sunshine. And that week

with a system giving us the rest of a few snow flurries in the wind.

Saturday, dry and bright with some sunshine. All change again on

Sunday as we see rain and high a temperatures. On Sunday, getting