Kashmir trout farm is open for business
A trout farm and hatchery has been launched in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir which, its investors say, will transform the region’s fish farming industry by linking its state-of-the art facilities with more than 300 local farmers, through a value chain geared towards the export market.
The Khyber Aquaculture Himalayan trout farm has been built with an investment of one billion rupees (just under £8m), by the Khyber Group, the state’s leading business conglomerate.
It is, the group says, the largest RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) trout farm in India, with the potential capacity to produce 7,000 metric tons of trout annually within three to five years. Its current capacity is 1,500 tons.
The hatchery of the unit is capable of producing up to 20 million fingerlings annually. With in-house production, processing and packaging units, the initiative is expected to support more than 3,000 indirect livelihood opportunities across the region, through its “cluster” model.
Umar Tramboo, Chairman and Managing Director, Khyber Aquaculture, said: “Our technologically superior facility is an expansion of cold-water aquaculture in Jammu and Kashmir. Our cluster model is designed to integrate production, hatcheries, processing and supply chains while supporting more than 300 local farmers under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), through modern aquaculture systems and market access.”
He added: “It has taken us over five years to be completely ready. But the wait was worth it. With this launch, we plan to revolutionise India’s aquaculture sector, introducing new standards for fish health and operational control. We want to be known as a platform for scaling trout farming with data-driven systems and localised adaptation.”
Khyber Aquaculture uses American and Danish - bred eyed ova (eggs) along with Danish, French and German precision-controlled systems designed to increase survival rates by 25–30%, lower feed conversion ratios (FCR), and reduce pathogen exposure. It has been designed specifically for international quality and export standards. The fully vertically integrated operation utilises hyper-hygienic cleaning lines and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) to achieve a 10-day chilled shelf-life and a six-month frozen shelf-life making both Fresh/Chilled & Frozen stocks readily available from FY Q3 2025.
The unit’s precision chilling systems maintain an exact 10-14°C water temperature. Continuous injection maintains high dissolved oxygen levels (8-12 mg/L) required by trout.
The facility will produce trout for both the domestic and export markets, the company said.
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