PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The flavour of Rainbow Trout from Uttarakhand has crossed the international boundary. Interacting with the media- persons at Media Centre here on Friday, the Fisheries Development minister Saurabh Bahuguna informed that for the first time in the history of the State, three cooperative societies of Pithoragarh have supplied five metric tons of fish to Nepal. He said that the State government is now planning to export about 30 tons of fish in the coming days.
He stated that three fisheries cooperatives in Pithoragarh’s Dharchula and Munsyari regions had harvested these fish. Maintaining a cold chain, the fish were transported to Veraval, Gujarat, where after processing, they were successfully exported to Nepal on June 23, 2026. This generated an income of approximately Rs 23.50 lakh for 33 fish farmers of the State.
The minister added during the Gulf Food Expo in Dubai contacts were established with international buyers and stakeholders which helped in getting the first export order. He said that during the Expo, the international buyers appreciated the Rainbow Trout of Uttarakhand. The minister said that some issues such as the smaller size of the Uttarakhand’s Trout were raised by experts and efforts are being made to rectify them.
He said that the department is now exploring export possibilities to other markets in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The minister said that the State government has taken concrete steps to open new employment opportunities in the fisheries sector. He said that a MoU was signed with the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in 2024 to provide marketing assistance to fishermen, under which 45.10 metric tons of trout fish worth Rs 2.10 crore have been supplied so far.
Bahuguna informed that there were only 10,011 fish farmers in the State till the year 2022 which now has increased to 15,657. These include 3,584 women fish farmers. He added that 11,805 metric tons of fish were produced in the State last year, whose value is approximately Rs 165 crore.
Bahuguna said that the annual budget of the Fisheries department has increased from Rs 55.76 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 261.41 crore in 2026-27.
The minister stated that the new Trout Incentive Scheme and the Mukyamantri Matasya Sampada Yojana are yielding positive results. The fisheries sector has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the State’s economy, contributing significantly to rural livelihoods and employment generation, he said.
