International Journal of Aquaculture, 2017, Vol.7, No.4, 23
-
30
23
Research Article Open Access
Current Status and Strategies of Rainbow Trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Farming
in India
Atul K. Singh , N.N. Pandey, S. Ali
ICAR-Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research, Anusandhan Bhawan, Industrial Area, Bhimtal-263136 (Nainital), India
Corresponding author Email
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2017, Vol.7, No. 4 doi
Received: 10 Jan., 2017
Accepted: 10 Feb., 2017
Published: 3 Mar., 2017
Copyright © 2017
Singh et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Singh A.K., Pandey N.N., and Ali S., 2017, Current status and strategies of rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
farming in India, International Journal of
Aquaculture, 7(4): 23-30 (doi
Abstract
Rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
has established itself as prime cultivable coldwater species in the Indian Himalayan
regions and now farmed on commercial scale. Its production has increased markedly in last ten years (2004 - 2014) from 147.0 to
834.0 tonnes, with a growth rate of 31 percent per annum. Availability of technical know-how of trout farming, breeding and
artificial diets has immensely helped in promoting aquaculture of trout in the country. Northwestern Himalayan region is the major
producer of rainbow trout (81.2%) while contribution from central and northeastern regions of the country is meagre. In spite of
increase in production in recent years, number of issues such as improvement in infrastructure and culture practices in terms of
broodstock management, feeding, stock handling and health management need consideration. Supply of inputs such as seed and feed
as well as marketing was identified as major constraints in the expansion of trout farming in India. Further increase in total
production requires more ingenious and scientific ways of rainbow trout farming which have been highlighted in the present article.
For sustainable development of rainbow trout farming in India, constant support and cohesion of policy makers, research
organizations and concerned line departments is important.
Keywords
Trout; Production; Environment; Breeding; Disease; Value addition
Introduction
In the Indian Sub-continent two main types of trout
viz.
brown trout
Salmo trutta fario
and rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
were transplanted from Europe primarily to develop sport fishing or recreational angling
(Jhingran and Sehgal, 1978; Singh and Lakra, 2011). Trout introduction in India dates back to late 19
th
and early
20
th
century under colonial rule by British, who made independent efforts in north-western and peninsular region
of the country where suitable cold water for trout is available (Vass et al., 2010). In peninsular India, the very first
attempt to introduce trout eggs and fry from New Zealand was made in 1863 by Sir Francis Day in Nilgiri and a
hatchery was constructed in Avalanche in 1909-1910 (Jhingran and Sehgal, 1978; Gopalakrishnan et al., 1999;
Sehgal, 1999a; Sehgal, 1999b). In the Munnar high range of Kerala, establishment of trout fishery started in 1909
with the introduction of brown trout
Salmo trutta fario
which could not succeed and therefore, after 1938 the focus
shifted towards rainbow trout farming for aquaculture production in coldwater areas in India.
Today rainbow trout farming in India are existing in different parts of Himalayas such as the Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and of late Arunachal Pradesh. On a small scale, it is also cultured in Ooty in Tamil
Nadu and Munnar in Kerala in Deccan Plateau (Figure 1).
In northwestern regions of India, most suitable climatic condition and topography for trout farming exist in
Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh which are important states where rainbow trout farming has
progressed on large scale. The trout fish farming project with the assistance of European Economic Community
(EEC) in the year 1984 at Kokernag in Kashmir, tremendously helped developing trout farming in the state.
Himachal Pradesh is the next leading states in rainbow trout farming and seed production in India with the
assistance of Norwegian Government during 1989 - 91. In central Himalaya, Uttarakhand while in northeastern
Himalaya, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have now initiated producing trout. Although rainbow trout production
