Trout fingerlings released into Avalanche Dam in Nilgiris

UDHAGAMANDALAM Around 6,000 trout fingerlings were released into the Avalanche Dam as part of the De

Around 6,000 trout fingerlings were released into the Avalanche Dam as part of the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare’s efforts to restock trout in water bodies in the Nilgiris.

The district administration said a total of 20,000 eyed ova of trout were brought to the Nilgiris from Jammu and Kashmir’s government trout farm in Kokernag in January and were being maintained there.

As part of the first phase of the restocking of trout in Avalanche Dam, around 6,000 fingerlings were released into the dam by the Nilgiris Collector, S.P. Amrith recently. The remaining fingerlings would be released as part of the second phase of the restocking process, officials said.

The trout would be released in Upper Bhavani, Devarbetta and Emerald, among other locations, the Collector said.

Efforts to renovate and repair the trout farm is set to cost ₹2.5 crore. The trout farm, located at an altitude of 2,036 meters above mean sea level, had been damaged during the heavy rain in the Nilgiris in 2019. The farm has been repaired and is to be renovated with check dams, hatching ponds and other facilities to be built in addition to the existing facilities. The trout farm is said to have been built in 1907 by H.C. Wilson, an expert from the Ceylon Fishing Club, who succeeded in introducing trout to the Nilgiris.