Pakistan’s prized trout under threat as climate change, overfishing take toll

Gilgit-Baltistan region, famed for its towering peaks, vast glaciers and pristine lakes, is facing a sharp decline in its prized trout population as climate change, habitat loss and overfishing threaten the species. Its icy, glacier-fed waters provide an ideal environment for the breeding of trout, one of Pakistan’s most prized freshwater fish. In recent years, however, the trout population has drastically reduced due to a slew of climate and human-induced factors, which include habitat fragmentation, pollution, construction of hydropower projects, and, on top of all, overfishing. According to experts and officials, the trout population has been slashed by 50 per cent over the past two decades. “Climate change-induced flash floods have been destroying spawning habitats of trout in most streams and tributaries by changing sediments and gravel size,” said Farasat Ali, an official of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan. Speaking to Anadolu, he said the local rivers and streams are still in good condition, but overfishing via dynamite, net and electricity shock is posing serious challenges to trout populations. Hydropower stations, he added, pose another major challenge to trout migration and life cycles, as most projects in Gilgit-Baltistan were designed without fish ladders or bypass systems to allow fish movement. Trout, he noted, naturally move upstream for breeding, and without such provisions, entire populations of offspring could be lost in the same habitat. Inayat Ali, an assistant director at Gilgit-Baltistan’s Fisheries Department, said dramatic climate change, particularly regular floods since 2010 and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), have badly impacted the trout population in the region. “Trout requires fresh and clean water with good amounts of oxygen to survive and grow. While floods and landslides bring mud and rocks, which spoil the water quality and subsequently destroy the trout’s breeding grounds,” Ali told Anadolu. Improved road infrast