Employment opportunities: 15,000 fry released in Attabad Lake

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government has released 15,000 trout fry into Attabad Lake in a bid to provide employment opportunities to the locals. Ikram Hussain, a government official in the fisheries department said the fish, each weighing 20 to 30 grams, were released into the lake on Saturday. Hussain added that freezing temperature in the valley might slow down the growth of the fish, which will take nearly three years to reach a weight of 100 grams. He added that 10,000 trout fish had been released into the lake last year. Attabad Lake was formed in January 2010 after a massive landslide blocked the flow of Hunza River.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2012.