While no population estimates are available, local conservationists say it is getting increasingly difficult to find trout in the Himalayan rivers where it once abounded. While natural calamities seem to have played a part in the dwindling numbers, so have human activities.
The drop in numbers, however, would not be reflected in the state's trout production. That's because what arrives on plates of gourmet establishments in cities is the rainbow trout — a farmed variety of the fish that also populates snow-fed rivers. This fish is an industry in itself, and according to official figures, Himachal Pradesh alone markets over 100 tonnes of this variety annually.
The story of the rarer brown trout is more dismal. The brown trout is found in rivers like the Beas, Tirthan, Sainj, Ravi, Uhl and Baspa — all in HP — besides certain spots in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. And locals with an interest in preserving them insist their numbers have reduced alarmingly. "In July 2005, we witnessed a disastrous cloudburst upstream and since then, we have noticed a significant decline brown trout numbers," said Ranjiv Bharti, who lives by the Tirthan river and is a member of the Indian Fish and Wildlife Conservancy. Read the full report here.
Source: Indranil Basu, TNN, Banjar (Kullu).
