Rainbow trout in the uk.

Rainbow Trout in the UK.

Rainbow trout were introduced into the UK from the US in the early 1900s. The Rainbow trout has been an incredible success. The introduction of these sexless rainbow trout had another benefit for the angler...

Rainbow trout

Rainbow trout were introduced into the UK from the US in the early 1900s.

This introduction coincided with the need to build extra water supplies for the growing industrial cities such as Bristol and Birmingham.

For a fish that is unable to breed naturally in all but a few British rivers the Rainbow trout has been an incredible success. This is due to its eagerness to feed compared with the native brown trout and its habit of shoaling.

Both of these soon made it a firm favourite with the fishermen and because of the Rainbow trouts faster growth rate it was a favourite with the fish farmer as well.

The only fly in the ointment was that two different strains of rainbow trout were used the Kamloops and the Shasta strain. Unfortunately these strains became sexually mature at different times of the year.

This resulted in fishermen catching coloured fish in both late and early season.

The development of egg treatment solved this problem by producing Diploid rainbow trout which were all sterile female

 

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