A “dry” Perthshire river is flowing again for the first time in more than 60 years.
Salmon have finally been reintroduced to a 10-mile stretch of the River Garry, following a historic agreement between energy giant SSE, the Scotttish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board.
The board had piled pressure on SSE – the company responsible for extracting the river water – to act on its “moral and legal responsibility to bring the river back to life”.
A ceremony at the Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre today marked the start of water flowing from one of SSE’s hydropower dams, promising major benefits for adult salmon spawning and juvenile production.
The move is expected to deliver a major boost to the area’s tourism economy.
Cabinet secretary for environment, climate change and land reform Roseanna Cunningham hosted the event to celebrate the huge ecological advance.
The SNP MSP said: “Congratulations to those involved in the project to restore water to the River Garry, which is an excellent example of successful partnership working to improve our water environment.
“It demonstrates how industry, public bodies and local organisations can work together to balance the delivery of environmental improvements and renewable energy production, as well as providing wider benefits to the local community and economy.”
She added: “This approach ties in with the Scottish Government’s commitment to maintaining and enhancing environmental standards.”
A weir at Struan, which blocked salmon moving into the Garry, was removed as engineering work by SSE got under way.
Jeremy Williamson, SSE’s director of renewable operations, added: “SSE has been delighted to play our part in restoring the water flow and allowing salmon back to the upper Garry.
“We want to ensure that we balance the nation’s need for power with our environmental responsibilities,” he said. “Although restoring the water in this stretch of the River Garry will result in the loss of potential hydro energy, we recognise our responsibility to ensure that we manage the waters carefully where we operate our hydro assets and hope that the work to restore the River Garry will help create a sustainable population of salmon in this stretch of river.”
David Summers, director of the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board, said: “We are delighted that the River Garry is flowing once again and that salmon have already been seen leaping at the falls of Struan, after an absence of over 60 years – something once assumed would never happen again.
“We applaud SSE in their constructive approach to this unique project and look forward to working with them and SEPA in coming years to ensure the maximum ecological benefits are produced from the water available.”
He said: “We hope that this will ultimately see an extra 1,500 salmon registered on the Pitlochry fish counter annually, bringing local benefits for both angling and general tourism.”
