Srinagar: Anantnag District has been designated as Trout District by GoI due to the huge potential for trout production as the District has numerous crystal clear snow fed streams and springs. 206 private trout farms have been established in the private sector in District during the last one decade besides several well established Government Trout Farms.
Trout Farming has been found to be one of the profitable ventures as compared to other agriculture sectors. A trout farmer earns a net profit of almost 5 – 6 lakh rupees from just two raceways of the dimensions of 20 × 2 × 1.5m. Besides being a profitable venture, trout fish is now being consumed in large numbers due to various health benefits especially due to the presence of Omega 3 fatty acids. In Kashmir one Kg of Trout is sold at the rate of Rs. 550/kg while in Delhi it is sold at Rs. 1000/kg and in southern states of India it is being sold at Rs. 2000/kg which indicates a huge scope, profit and export avenues for the sector.
Despite being a profitable venture and healthy food, several limiting factors like availability of quality seed, feed, diseases and water quality have been found some of the constraints in maximizing its potential production. Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries (DCFR), Bhimtal has prepared the Trout Feed with different ingredients and feed formula, which was tested at farmers level in Anantnag for an on farm demonstration in the Trout Rearing Unit of Dr. Iqbal, an adapted framer of Faculty of Fisheries, SKUAST-K located at Aamadzoo village of Tehsil Pahalgam.
SKUAST-Kashmir Vice Chancellor Dr. Nazir Ahmad Ganai along with Deputy Director General of Fisheries, India, Dr. Joykrushna Jena, Director, Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research (DCFR), Bhimtal, Dr. Pramood Kumar Pandey and Scientists of the Faculty of Fisheries visited the farmers for feedback about the performance of the feed used in trout rearing unit. The event was attended by a large number of farmers. The Vice Chancellor in his interaction with the farmers highlighted the scope of the fisheries sector in Jammu and Kashmir and its expansion not only for meeting the requirement of UT of JK but also for its export to other states of the Country. Hon’ble Vice Chancellor also highlighted the role of the university in promoting fisheries in the JK and the facilities available for feed formulation, analysis, water quality testing, value addition and the disease diagnosis etc.
DDG Fisheries, GoI, Dr. Joykrushna Jena on the occasion highlighted the various schemes of the GoI for the fish farming community and assured farmers of every possible help from GoI for increasing the profit. Dr. Jena interacted with the farmers and congratulated the adapted/progressive farmer for taking fish farming as a means of living. Director, DCFR while speaking on the occasion gave in detail the research activities related to Trout farming being carried out by his institute and talked about the performance of the trout feed at Aamadzoo village, which he said is appreciating with Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of 1:1. Director Fisheries, J&K, Irshad Ahmad, SDM, Pahalgam, Naseer Ahmad was present on the occasion and addressed the farming community. Dr. Farooz Ahmad Bhat, Dr. Ovas Asmi and Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Scientist from SKUAST-K, Ab. Majid Tak, JD Fisheries, Kashmir, Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Wani, CPO, Anantnag, Mr. Mohd Sidiq Choh, Deputy Director Fisheries, Anantnag were also present on the occasion.

KR Desk