HOW WHISKEY STAGED A COMEBACK FOR OYSTERS

Glenmorangie Distillery is all set to welcome the native oysters to the Scottish Highlands. With their plan to bring them back to its roots, the DEEP Project led by Heriot-Watt University, Glenmorangie Distillery and the Marine Conservation Society joined hands in bringing back the long lost oysters.

The story of oysters revolves around Dornoch Firth located in the north-east of Scotland some 10,000 years ago. The problem arose when overfishing began to take its toll on the environment. The late 19th century witnessed a rapid extinction of the shellfish. Thanks to the ambitious environmental venture of The Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP) that is helping in increasing the number of European oysters.

The motive of this revolutionary project is not just to rehabilitate and enhance oyster reefs to the protected area of the Dornoch Firth but to work in accordance with a newly commissioned anaerobic digestion (AD) plant set up by Glenmorangie on its location to help clean up the waters of the Firth.

The latest AD plant will aid in treating the distillery’s pot ale (impurities that remain after first distillation), spent lees (remnants from spirit distillation) and washing water.

The anaerobic digestion process inside the plant takes place and out of this we get a by-product of water, biogas and a copper rich sludge. The AD plant will clean almost 95% of the waste passed into the sea. On the other hand, the biogas process generates steam that will power the distillery and cut down on fossil fuel reliance by 15%. The copper rich sludge is then utilized by the local barley farmers as a fertilizer to feed their copper deficient land.

Currently, the scenario for oysters is changing as they are recognized as endangered species throughout Atlantic Europe which will soon turn into an international importance. The DEEP Project has achieved success in fully restoring the survivability and habitat of oysters. Along with its conservation project the distillery has also managed to kill two birds with one stone by investing in sustainable environment program which will escalate their brand name to a new level.

Aiming towards a sustainable marine environment is the need of the hour and corporate social responsibility is what every corporations should continuously strive for.