INDIA: Shipped from Scotland to India's Himalayas over a century ago, the Kashmiri trout has survived wars and insurgencies. The state authorities now believe they can export the fish back to Europe, writes Rahul Bedi in New Delhi
Breeding fish in streams that crisscross the picturesque Kashmir Valley, where temperatures fluctuate between four and 24 degrees, Kashmiris claim their trout is the world's healthiest and tastiest.
"Kashmir's waters are very good, rich in oxygen," said Mr Nissar Ahmed of the state fisheries department that has established 30 trout farms which annually produce 100 metric tones of fish.
These include the delicious rainbow trout with distinctive magenta markings and the brown trout introduced into the region by the British in 1900.
But with help from the federal government and EU Kashmir hopes to increase yearly production to 500 metric tones, said Mr Showkat Ali of the fisheries department.
Officials said the fisheries department had recently acquired a Dutch mill that churns out 500 kg of trout feed an hour and four more are expected to arrive soon. "After making good the local consumption, surplus stocks will be exported to Europe" Mr Ali said.
But officials admitted several "irritants" blocked their way before exports could begin. There is no international airport in Indian-administered Kashmir, which has been ravaged by the 15-year Muslim insurgency that has cost 65,000 lives. Pakistan controls a third of the principality and claims the rest.
An inadequate power supply to run the feed mills, widespread corruption and an overall lethargy and inefficiency are other problems facing Kashmir's trout industry.
The first consignment of 10,000 trout eggs was sent from England to Kashmir by the Duke of Bedford in 1899, but died en route.
A few months later, in December 1900, a new batch from Scotland arrived in excellent condition, and their descendants continue to proliferate in Kashmir.