Thursday, August 11, 2016

M&S VMAG | Farm Fresh Rainbow Trout at Kakani | HUNGER HUNT

August 5th, 2016 :
Fish production in Nepal is confined to inland waters including ponds, lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The southern Terai region of the country is the main area for warm water aquaculture. Aquaculture of common carp, Chinese carps and Indian major carps substantially increased from 1 150 tons to 15 023 tons from 1979 to 2000 (DOFD, 2001). However, cold water fish culture in the mid hills is at the very beginnings although a few ventures show that it is a profitable enterprise. Rainbow trout is the best suited exotic fish for growing commercially in mid-hills of Nepal. The culture technology and seed of rainbow trout are available in the country.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was introduced to Nepal for the first time in the late 1960s and early 1970s from UK, Japan and India. It could not survive due to the lack of technical know-how and was re-introduced from Japan in 1988. During this period, the Nepal Agricultural Research Council developed the breeding and culture technology for this species. Rainbow trout is a carnivorous species which requires high protein feed and well oxygenated water. In nature it feeds on aquatic insects, small crustaceans and small fish. It can be cultured using artificial feed of no less than 20 to 30 percent of animal protein.