Speyburn Celebrates Successful Scheme to Conserve Local Wildlife

Speyburn Single Malt Scotch Whisky is celebrating the completion of a sustainable environmental project to increase fish populations in the Mackalea Burn, close to its distillery in Speyside.  The installation of a new fish pass, sponsored by the award-winning whisky, will overcome in-river obstacles that prevent salmon and sea trout from spawning, helping to improve the biodiversity of the area.

The scheme was led by Scottish charity the Spey Foundation, in collaboration with Moray Council and Speyburn, as part of the whisky’s two year partnership with the Spey Foundation to support ongoing conservation work along the River Spey. It forms part of the Foundation’s wider initiative to ‘open up Spey burns to wildlife’ and protect and restore the catchment’s natural features.

The Mackalea Burn is a tributary of the River Fiddich, one of the most productive spawning and nursery streams in the Spey catchment. A man-made obstacle, in this case road culverts and steps, had rendered the burn impassable to salmon and sea trout, preventing them from reaching their breeding ground.

The pass, which was created by removing a notch from the step and installing a sustainable timber chute, has allowed fish to journey to and from their breeding grounds more freely. Its design will also improve their habitat by creating depth and slower river flow, opening up an additional 1.5km of high quality breeding grounds to encourage spawning under all flow conditions.

Brian Shaw, a Spey Foundation Biologist commented: ‘The Mackalea Burn project was a great team effort between the Spey Foundation, Speyburn and Moray Council. These sustainable modifications have already allowed sea trout and salmon to swim up the Mackalea Burn, a nice spawning burn, and will continue to do so for years to come.’

The Spey Foundation plays a vital role in conserving the Spey burns and surrounding wildlife and it is this commitment that makes them the perfect partner for Speyburn, which is proud to be the only distillery to use water from the Granty Burn, a tributary of the River Spey, famed for its purity and world class salmon fishing.

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

Mark Steven, Speyburn’s Brand Manager added: ‘The River Spey is at the heart of our whisky, the local community and its wildlife, so it has been wonderful to partner with a charity which shares our commitment to its conservation. The Mackalea Burn project will make a really positive and long term impact on the river’s ecological status and we are very proud to have been involved in the collaboration. To further our commitment to the River Spey’s  enhancement, we are now working with the Spey Foundation to develop another fish pass on the Granty Burn at our distillery, due for completion in 2015.’

Nestled in a valley in the northern edge of Rothes, Speyburn Distillery perfectly 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.

Notes 

Speyburn Single Malt Scotch Whisky was first distilled on December 15, 1897, the diamond jubilee year of Queen Victoria. Today, Speyburn continues to use the time-honoured traditional distillation methods that created the single barrel of the 1897 vintage. Speyburn is matured in American and Spanish oak casks in traditional stone-built warehouses. The result is a classic Speyside single malt; golden amber in colour with a sweet and citrus nose. It is medium-bodied and easy to drink, with a soft, fruity character and a dry, complex finish. The portfolio includes Speyburn Bradan Orach, Speyburn 10 year old and Speyburn 25 year old expressions. 

The Spey Foundation is a charitable Company Limited by Guarantee and is a transition of the Spey Research Trust, which was formed in the mid-1970s and since 1981 operated as a Registered Charity, administered by a Research Committee. The aim of the Spey Foundation is to advance the study of and research into salmon and all other aquatic species within the Spey Fishery. The Foundation’s work, like the Trust’s before it, plays a vital part in informing and advising the Spey Fishery Board of developments within the river and helps to determine the Board’s approach to fishery management.

The ‘Opening Up Spey Burns to Wildlife’ project will focus on overcoming in-river obstacles and improvements to the habitat within the Spey catchment, by protecting and restoring the natural features. Damage to these natural features is often caused by diffuse pollution and sediment deposition through bank erosion.  The restoration may involve fencing off areas which have been damaged by livestock, planting trees to create pockets of shade, re-instating gravel beds, moving rocks or introducing wood structures to restore the morphology and to re-establish a natural habitat area for fish to spawn and for other wildlife.  The overall effect of these works will help to improve the biodiversity of the area and the river bank.

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