{"id":104807,"date":"2026-05-24T14:08:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T08:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=104807"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:08:48","slug":"indias-cold-water-fisheries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-cold-water-fisheries\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Cold Water Fisheries"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India\u2019s Cold Water Fisheries Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s cold water fisheries sector is emerging as an important component of the Blue Economy by generating livelihoods, improving nutrition, promoting eco-tourism, and supporting sustainable mountain development. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About India\u2019s Cold Water Fisheries<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cold-water fisheries are practiced in <\/span><b>high-altitude snow-fed rivers, streams<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, lakes, and reservoirs with <\/span><b>temperatures <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ranging <\/span><b>between 5\u00b0C and 25\u00b0C, dissolved oxygen above 6 mg\/L,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>pH levels between 6.5 and 8.0.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They flourish across<\/span><b> Jammu &amp; Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Meghalaya, and Nagaland, along with <\/span><b>hill districts of West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, these ecosystems cover more than 5.33 lakh sq. km. of mountainous terrain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has identified over <\/span><b>278 cold-water fish species.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Species such as <\/span><b>rainbow trout, golden mahseer, and snow trout <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are cultivated using <\/span><b>specialized infrastructure, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">including hatcheries, raceways, RAS, biofloc systems, and cold chain facilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Trout farming<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is generally practiced <\/span><b>above 1,500 metres altitude<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while <\/span><b>mahseer culture <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is suitable at <\/span><b>relatively lower elevations.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Current Status and Production:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s total fish production reached approximately 197.75 lakh tonnes during 2024\u201325, with <\/span><b>cold-water fisheries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> contributing nearly <\/span><b>3 percent of inland fish production.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>National cold-water fish production<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> currently stands at around <\/span><b>7,000 metric tonnes.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Trout production alone<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has increased nearly 1.8 times over the last decade to about<\/span><b> 6,000 metric tonne<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s in 2024\u201325.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Jammu &amp; Kashmir <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has emerged as India\u2019s <\/span><b>leading trout-producing region, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">followed by Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Policy Initiatives:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pm-matsya-sampada-yojana\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana<\/a> (PMMSY) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during 2020\u201326, projects worth over <\/span><b>\u20b95,638.76 crore <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sanctioned <\/span><b>specifically for cold-water states.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">approved projects worth \u20b97,761.78 crore during 2018\u201326<\/span><b> for hatcheries, training centres, and fisheries infrastructure.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> Blue Revolution Scheme (2015\u201320<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) laid the foundation for <\/span><b>scientific trout farming <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">through support for raceways, hatcheries, and reservoir stocking.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under Pradhan<\/span><b> Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY), <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with an outlay of <\/span><b>\u20b96,000 crore, support <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is being provided for <\/span><b>aquaculture insurance,<\/b> <b>performance grants to fisheries startups<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\/microenterprises, and value chain efficiency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Government has also <\/span><b>issued Model Guidelines for Cold Water Fisheries Development, 2026, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">covering site selection, hatchery standards, disease management, biosecurity, branding, certification, e-trading, and skill development.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is also strengthening international <\/span><b>collaborations with Norway and Iceland <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for knowledge exchange.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/newsonair.gov.in\/india-expands-cold-water-aquaculture-with-scientific-farming-and-infrastructure-push\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NOA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s cold water fisheries thrive in Himalayan and northeastern states, supporting biodiversity, livelihoods, and regional economies. Read more about India\u2019s Cold Water Fisheries, Current Status, Latest News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":105019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7703,21,22,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-104807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-indias-cold-water-fisheries","9":"tag-prelims-pointers","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104807"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105613,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104807\/revisions\/105613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}