Coldwater fish farming in Indian Himalayan region: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Indian Himalayan region is abounds in innumerable rivers, streams and lakes. Of these, upland aquatic resources and mid-Himalayan region laying in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, part of West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya in the Himalayan range and Western Ghats like the Munnar high ranges in Kerala, Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu and Bababudang hills in Karnataka are some of the potential areas offering enough resources for coldwater fish farming in the country. Under the influence of lower temperature regime, the farming of selected cold water fast growing species i.e. rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), exotic major carps i.e. grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), silver carp ( Hypopthalamichthys molitrix) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and few exotic ornamental fishes and minor carps are in practice among the people of Indian Himalayan region.