River Ythan

The Ythan /ˈaɪθən/ is a river in the north-east of Scotland rising at Wells of Ythan near the village of Ythanwells and flowing south-eastwards through the towns of Fyvie, Methlick and Ellon before flowing into the North Sea near Newburgh, in Formartine.

[4] The Scottish Government has designated the River Ythan catchment as a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone following concerns about the spread of algal mats in the river during the 1990s.

However, the designation and subsequent actions to solve the issue under the European Union's LIFE Fund's Ythan Project have led to improvements in water quality as an increasing number of farmers used techniques such as the creation of buffer strips between their fields and the river and nutrient budgeting.

Both the increase in agri-environment schemes in the area and the individual river restoration work undertaken under the auspices of the Ythan Project have led to an increase in wildlife habitat in the Ythan's catchment.

[7] The area of the Ythan is part of a protected region, in order to preserve Atlantic salmon and sea trout.