Cold, glacier-fed waters in Gilgit-Baltistan provide ideal environment for trout breeding
Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) region, famed for its towering peaks, vast glaciers,. pristine lakes, is facing a sharp decline in its prized trout population as climate change, habitat loss, and overfishing threaten the species.
Its icy, glacier-fed waters provide an ideal environment for breeding of trout, one of Pakistan’s most prized freshwater fish.
In recent years, however, the trout population has drastically reduced due to a slew of climate. human-induced factors, which include habitat fragmentation, pollution, construction of hydropower projects, and, on top of all, overfishing.
According to experts and officials, the trout population has been slashed by 50% over the past two decades.
"Climate change-induced flash floods have been destroying spawning habitats of trout in most streams. tributaries by changing sediments and gravel size," said Farasat Ali, an official of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan.
Speaking toAnadolu, he said the local rivers. streams were still in good condition but overfishing via dynamite, net, and electricity shock was posing serious challenges to trout populations.
Hydropower stations, he added, pose another major challenge to trout migration. life cycles, as most projects in G-B were designed without fish ladders or bypass systems to allow fish movement.
Trout, he noted, naturally move upstream for breeding,. without such provisions, entire populations of offspring could be lost in the same habitat.
Inayat Ali, an assistant director at G-B's Fisheries Department, said dramatic climate change, particularly regular floods since 2010. glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), have badly impacted the trout population in the region.
"Trout requires fresh and clean water with good amounts of oxygen to survive and grow. While floods. landslides bring mud and rocks, which spoil the water quality and subsequently destroy the trout's breeding grounds," Ali toldAnadolu.
Improved road infrastructure adds to overfishing
Not only the number,. the size of the fish has also reduced over the passage of time, reflecting the adverse impacts of overfishing.
"It's rare to catch a trout above 1 kilogram weight nowadays. They are mostly between 500 and 600 grams. Until a decade ago, 2kg or above single catch was normal," Ali said.
Although there have been no official surveys or statistics about trout population. conservative estimates suggest a 50% decline in the number of fish over the past two decades, Ali added.
The figure was also endorsed by Khadim Hussain, a local environment protection agency official.
Hussain cited an improved road and transport infrastructure as a key factor behind overfishing and commercial catching.
"Road infrastructure has been significantly improved across G-B in recent years, providing access to even far-flung areas, where lakes. streams are full of trout. It has given a boost to commercial catching," he toldAnadolu.
The colonial connection
Trout is not an endemic species to G-B. It is an exotic species which has killed most of the region's native fish species in many rivers and streams.
British colonial officers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries introduced trout to the region. G-B is home to two kinds of trout - brown trout and rainbow trout, with the former in abundance.
The picturesque Ghizer district is known as a hub of trout. Fishing is banned from October to March – a six-month breeding period for trout — although the ban is often violated.
Obtaining a licence for trout hunting is mandatory, according to the regional government's law. The fisheries department issues 5,000 to 6,000 seasonal. daily fishing licenses yearly, compared to 1,000 to 1,500 a decade ago.
Booming trout farming industry
An increasing demand for the species has led to a booming trout farming industry across the region.
"On the one hand, trout numbers are decreasing in the rivers. lakes, while on the other, its farming is on the rise in the entire region," Ali said.
Within the past three to four years. the number of trout farms across the region has soared to over 450 compared to hardly over 100, which supply around 600 tons of trout yearly across Pakistan.
Since 2013, the fisheries department has been providing guidance. financial assistance for trout farming, which has become a "lucrative business" opening up new employment opportunities across the region.
Maaz Alam, who set up a trout farm in Ghizer district in 2017, is currently supplying 10 tons of fish yearly to Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar. other cities amid an increasing demand and profits.
"The demand for trout is gradually increasing not only domestically (G-B). across Pakistan as well," Alam toldAnadolu, adding that there is an 80% to 100% return in trout farming.
A bulk of the trout production is consumed domestically, following a surge in local tourism.
"No tourist returns from here without tasting a trout, which has become a hallmark of G-B."
The region, according to Alam, has a potential to export trout to the regional nations, particularly the Middle East, but it requires proper marketing. high-quality packaging.
"That we cannot do without the government or a third-party support," he said.
Trophy hunting programs
Farasat, the WWF official, called for community-based fish conservation. management like trophy hunting programs, to boost the dwindling trout population.
A sustainable trophy hunting program. greater community involvement have already helped Pakistan maintain a year-long trend of an increase in the population of its national animal, the markhor.
The G-B government. last year, auctioned permits to hunt endangered markhor for a record $370,000, one of the highest permits in the world to kill an animal. The government uses the money to support local communities with initiatives such as building schools, mosques, health centres,. even providing scholarships to students.
About 80% of the amount generated through the hunting license program. launched in early 2000, is spent on local communities, while the remainder goes to the national exchequer.
"This formula will boost not only fish population as well as wetlands conservation of specific areas," Farasat said.
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