River Shin

River Shin
A suspension bridge crosses the Shin below the Falls of Shin
Location of the mouth within Scottish Highlands
Location
Country	Scotland
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Little Loch Shin weir
• coordinates	58°00′46″N 4°24′06″W / 58.0128°N 4.4017°W / 58.0128; -4.4017
Mouth
• location	Kyle of Sutherland
• coordinates	57°56.14′N 4°24.8′W / 57.93567°N 4.4133°W / 57.93567; -4.4133

v t e River Shin system
Legend
source source Allt nan Albannach Loch Dubh a' Chuail Loch Merkland Abhainn a Choire Merkland River Loch Shin Loch a' Ghriama headwaters source River Cassley Loch a' Ghorm-Choire Cassley power station Loch Fiag Duchally weir  A838  Fiag Bridge & River Fiag River Tirry Lairg dam Lairg power station Little Loch Shin  A839  Lairg Bridge tunnel site of Gruids Mill Grudie Burn Intake to tunnel Falls of Shin  A837  Shin Bridge Shin power station Kyle of Sutherland

The River Shin (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Sin, pronounced [ˈa.ɪɲ ˈʃin]) is a river in the Scottish North West Highlands.

The river flows from the southern end of Loch Shin, next to the village of Lairg. It flows in a generally southward direction, passing by Shin Forest and over the Falls of Shin. It joins the Kyle of Sutherland at Invershin, which then flows into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge and then the North Sea. The river is part of a larger network with several tributaries, but the part which is actually called the Shin is just 7 miles (11 km) long. There are several bridges on this section, a number of prehistoric remains on the banks, and the ruins of a corn mill at Gruid.

The river was extensively altered in the 1950s when the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board constructed Cassley power station on the banks of Loch Shin, Lairg power station at the southern end of Loch Shin, and Shin power station at Inveran, close to the mouth of the river. A large dam was built at Lairg, to increase the storage capacity of Loch Shin, and a smaller one just below Lairg to form Little Loch Shin, from where a tunnel runs to Inveran to feed the power station. Flow down the river has been increased by capturing some of the headwaters of the River Cassley to the west and the River Brora to the east.

The river is used by anglers, because it contains populations of game fish such as trout and salmon. Fishing is managed by the riparian landowners, and the river is divided into three beats, on which the number of fishing permits issued on any one day is strictly limited. Fish lifts were built into the dams to allow migrating salmon to pass upstream into the rivers beyond Loch Shin, but survival rates for smolts which hatch in the upper reaches are small, and a catch and release policy has been implemented, to attempt to improve dwindling stocks of game fish. Habitat improvements have also been carried out, to provide spawning grounds for salmon and to increase the population of freshwater pearl mussels, which clean the water.