Press Release

FISH PASS HELPS SALMON AND SEA TROUT REACH SPAWNING GROUNDS

20 July 2006

New fish passes installed on the Fochabers burn that flows through the Fochabers estate in upper Moray are helping to increase the migration of salmon and sea trout into the River Spey.

The Crown Estate has been working in partnership with the Spey Fishery Board, Moray Council and Scottish Natural Heritage to help improve and protect spawning areas along the river.

The £35,000 project has been partially grant aided through the European Union LIFE Programme and is part of a Scotland-wide Conservation of Atlantic Salmon (CASS) project. The remaining costs of £11,500 are being met by The Crown Estate, Moray Council and The Spey Fishery Board as cash and 'in kind' contributions.

Spawning sites on the River Spey, now a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), have been adversely affected in the past by barriers to fish movements. The Fochabers burn, a lower tributary in the River Spey catchment, has been obstructed by a series of weirs and culverts, which has had an adverse impact on the local fish population. The recently completed installation of fish passes will allow fish to bypass the obstructions along the burn.

Alan Laidlaw, Head of Customer Services for the Rural Estate, said that the conservation project on the River Spey is part of a wider long-term commitment that The Crown Estate has made to improving and enhancing the natural environment on each of its rural estates in Scotland. He said: “This project follows on from a similar one completed on the River Conglass on our Glenlivet estate to protect salmon spawning areas. Successful land management of any estate is about working in partnership with tenants, the local community and the relevant agencies. The Crown Estate is fully committed to improved management through financial support where relevant.”

Bob Laughton, a biologist with the Spey Fishery Board, advised on the location of the pass and says that it will ensure that the migratory fish populations in the area will continue to grow and prosper. He said: “The installation of the fish pass will help the adult salmon and sea trout to move further up the burn and reach new spawning areas with relative ease. This should improve juvenile populations and in turn lead to better smolt runs from the burn.”