Why Himachal Pradesh’s trout farmers are quitting the business
Poor supply of seed and feed from the government and exposure to flash floods have made the hatcheries economically unviable. Mar 14, 2021 · 09:30 pm The Himachal Fisheries Department is counting on more private participation in trout farming, while several trout farmers are shutting shop and selling their farms. | Alan Levine/Flickr
“I saw the flood coming in front of my own eyes,” said Harish Dhanotia, a former trout farmer from Lohardi in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra. “I was saving my fish by catching them with my hands.”
Dhanotia a formerly college-educated engineer for technology company HCL, quit his job to open his trout farm in 2015. But after a river flood damaged his already struggling farm into failure in 2020, he is now trying to run a shop after a spell of unemployment. “Ye jua hai [This is gambling],” he said about trout farming. “I gained no benefit from it.�