Kathmandu, December 8:

Experts on fish farming yesterday said that there is a high demand of rainbow trout and its extended farming could help the country fetch foreign currencies.

“Extension of the rainbow trout farming in different parts of the country can fetch foreign currencies,” said Dr Tek Bahadur Gurung, chief of the Fisheries Development Division (FDD), Godavari. Addressing an interaction organised by the FDD with support from JICA, Dr Gurung said Nepal is in a transitional phase in terms of rainbow trout production and the FDD is preparing to extend its services in different parts of the country.

Director of Livestock and Fisheries Research at Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) Shambhu Bahadur Pandey said it is essential to explore both national and international market for the agricultural products in the new political set up. He said farmers should be involved in any project related to them.

Gagan Bahadur Nhuchhe Pradhan of Fisheries Development Directorate pointed out that there is a shortage of fingerlings for extending rainbow trout farming. “We need to develop farmer-to-farmer extension of fingerlings by decentralising the fingerling stock,” he said.

Experts and farmers present during the interaction said there is no dearth of market for trout fish as it is readily consumed in the big hotels. Besides, there is a high demand from abroad including Singapore, Thailand and India.

Acting executive director of NARC Dr Nanda Prasad Shrestha stressed the need to develop entrepreneurship and encourage private parties in the extension of rainbow trout farming claiming that the effort by the government alone would not be sufficient.

Rainbow trout was first introduced in Nepal in 1969 from India. In the second time, the queen of UK had presented 10,000 fingerlings of brown trout to the late monarch. Those fingerlings were kept at the Fisheries Development Center of Godavari which is now known as Fisheries Development Division. Later it was introduced in Trout Hatchery, Trishuli — now called Fisheries Research Centre, Trishuli. The carnivorous exotic fish species is expensive compared to other fish due to high cost of its food but is tasty and easy to eat.