Mystery disease wipes out trout farms

BALAKOT:

A mysterious disease has nearly wiped-out trout at fish farms in the Kaghan Valley, with farm owners blaming the provincial fisheries department for failing to diagnose the problem which has been recurring for four years.

According to one estimate, only a handful of more than fifty farm owners are left after sustaining daily losses of millions of rupees.

Dozens of farms were contrasted in Jarad, Bhoja and other areas along an agricultural development programme in 2019. The government matched the investments of locals who wanted to start trout farms. The cost of setting up a farm was around Rs3.5 million at that time, with the farmers buying fry (young fish) from hatcheries.

However, the pandemic that followed soon after meant there was no tourist footfall, the main consumer of trout for farmers in the valley. Trout usually takes a year to grow fully but is more prone to disease if it ages.

The lost revenue due to the pandemic was exacerbated by a mystery disease which killed the majority of the stock for the farmers. The problem has gotten worse over the years, with only a handful of trout farms operational.

A research officer at the fisheries department, Qaiser Javed said local vets had taken samples from the trout and forwarded them to the laboratory, but they could not diagnose the disease.

A team of experts from Japan, affiliated with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is scheduled to draw samples to diagnose the problem starting Thursday.

Meanwhile, local farm owners say the fisheries department failed to provide the required training on managing fish farms. They said they were unaware of the ideal temperature or feed.

Trout requires specific conditions to survive, and thrives only in temperate and cool parts of the country. Being a carnivorous fish, it is expensive to feed, especially when it is mature.

According to one farmer, the problem was also a lack of experience among them regarding the fish business. The lack of government support exacerbated the problem, they said.

The research officer at the department was yet to tell them about the water required per pond, the suitable temperature for trout as well as the reason behind the mystery disease.

Fish farmers said that they would send a delegation to the provincial minister for livestock and demand an overhaul of the fisheries department in Mansehra.

It warrants mention that last year, the trout in the Kunhar River were dying due to a fungal disease which was controlled after the intervention of the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA). Their intervention resulted in experts from the Punjab Fisheries Department examining the fish and diagnosing the problem.

The trout of the Kunhar River, which runs through the Kaghan Valley, is known for its taste. However, the number of fish has depleted drastically due to plastic pollution, caused primarily by domestic tourists.

The fisheries department had a hatchery at Jarad from where close to 100,000 fry would be released in the Kunhar River annually to ensure the maintenance of stock. This practice has also stopped, said one source in the department.

Trout farming is a thriving industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan, with the trout of the area known for its taste.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2023.