A Moray group’s campaign against coastal erosion has been given a boost following the purchase of new equipment.
The James A Mackie Memorial Trust blames the ever-changing coastline at Kingston and Garmouth for dwindling salmon stocks along the River Spey.
Now the organisation has acquired a remote weather station to help it conduct scientific research into the Moray Firth and determine the cause of erosion around the Spey Bay area.
The trust is named in honour of a former Burghead fisherman who was lost at sea in 1922.
His grandson, also James Mackie, is a director of the group and hopes the new gear will show evidence of the impact of the changing coast has on wildlife.
He said: “This equipment can record wind speed direction and air pressure, so for the first time we can accurately measure weather conditions against the tide, and how they affect the movement of gravel on the seabed and the high water mark.
“It is our belief that the evolving coastline is having an impact on salmon stocks, particularly in the Spey, as young fish struggle to gather food from the seabed in the changing conditions.”
The electronic shoreline equipment is sited 100 yards inland from the high water mark at Kingston Beach, west of the mouth of the River Spey.
It works by sending a message to an inland base, where information is downloaded to a computer.
The group was able to acquire the weather station after receiving a £500 donation from the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation.
A spokeswoman for the charity said: “The foundation has recently assisted a number of groups focussing on conservation and environmental education.
“This is a small local project but it has the potential to become part of a much bigger initiative in determining the impact of coastal erosion around our shores.
“It has already received interest for wider research purposes and trustees are looking forward to following progress as the project develops.”
Mr Mackie added: “Gordon Baxter was a very keen salmon fisher along the Spey, so I know this is an issue he would have taken a keen interest in.”
Over the past 30 years it is reckoned that the actions of the sea, wind and tide have removed 6million tonnes of material from the beach at Kingston-on-Spey.