Whisky Focus - Speyburn Celebrates Completion Of Second Fish Conservation Project

Speyburn Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Scottish charity ‘The Spey Foundation’ are celebrating the completion of their second environmental project to increase fish populations along the River Spey.

You may recall at the end of last year Speyburn Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Scottish charity The Spey Foundation announced that they had completed a sustainable environmental project to increase fish populations in the Mackalea Burn a tributary of the River Fiddich, well the good folks at Speyburn and the Spey Foundation are celebrating once again after completing their second environmental project to increase fish populations along the River Spey.

This time a new fish pass has been successfully constructed in the Granty Burn to overcome in-river obstacles that prevent salmon and sea trout from spawning and to improve the river’s biodiversity.

The project, which was sponsored by the award-winning whisky, stems from a two year partnership with the Speyside-based conservation charity. The unique collaboration feeds into the charity’s wider initiative to ‘Open up the Spey burns to wildlife’, and follows the installation of a Mackalea Burn fish pass funded by Speyburn last year.

The Granty Burn is a remarkably pure water source and is a tributary of the River Spey, which is famed for its purity and world class salmon fishing. It is also at the heart of Speyburn single malt which is expertly hand crafted using its water at the Speyburn Distillery which sits nestled in beautiful glen just north of Rothes.

Speyburn Brand Manager Mark Steven commented: "Our second project with The Spey Foundation is one which is very close to our heart and we are delighted that it is now complete. The clear, soft waters of the Granty Burn are integral to our award-winning single malt whisky, so we are naturally proud to fund a scheme which benefits the river, its wildlife and the surrounding area."

Preparations for the pass started over a year ago to prevent a steep rock cascade blocking fish from journeying freely to their breeding grounds. The pass was created by extending an intake pipe for the distillery’s cooling pond upstream and building a temporary dam to divert water flow. Its design will open up high quality breeding grounds to encourage spawning under all flow conditions.

Brian Shaw, Spey Foundation Biologist commented:
"The Spey Foundation plays a vital role in conserving the Spey burns and surrounding wildlife and it is this commitment that makes it the perfect partner for Speyburn, which is proud to be the only distillery to use water from the Granty Burn."

Speyburn Single Malt donates £1 to the charity for each new person signing up to Clan Speyburn – the whisky’s free online community – with further support provided through an international on-pack promotion.

Nestled in a valley in the northern edge of Rothes, Speyburn Distillery instinctively balances modern progress with time-honoured distillation and production techniques. In addition to using the most up-to-date and energy efficient equipment, the distillery has retained many of its original features to maintain its unique character, such as its pagoda ventilator roof, wooden wash backs, unique stills, worm tubs and traditional dunnage warehouses.
 

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