This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the proper storage of Artemia cysts to maintain their hatching quality and performance. The factsheet outlines key storage requirements, including maintaining low cyst moisture content, using airtight and dry packaging, storing cysts at low temperatures, protecting them from light and humidity, and allowing adequate acclimatization before use. By following these simple practices, hatchery operators can reduce quality losses during storage and ensure reliable hatching results. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the disinfection of Artemia cysts prior to incubation. The factsheet presents a practical step-by-step procedure covering cyst selection, hydration, disinfection using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), washing and deactivation of residual chlorine, and immediate application of treated cysts. It also highlights key safety precautions, required materials, and recommended operational conditions to ensure effective disinfection while maintaining cyst quality and minimizing risks to operators and the environment. The guidance aims to support improved hatchery biosecurity and more reliable Artemia production. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the decapsulation of Artemia cysts, a process that removes the outer shell to improve hatching efficiency, reduce contamination risks and allow the direct use of decapsulated cysts as feed. The document describes the complete procedure, from cyst hydration and chemical decapsulation to monitoring, washing, chlorine neutralization and storage. It also highlights essential safety measures, including the handling of hazardous chemicals, temperature control and proper effluent management. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the hatching of Artemia cysts to obtain high-quality instar I nauplii. The factsheet summarizes the key operational parameters affecting hatching success, including cyst density, aeration, salinity, temperature, pH, illumination and incubation duration. It also highlights the materials required, recommended operating ranges and critical monitoring points to help ensure optimal hatching performance and consistent nauplii production under hatchery conditions. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the harvesting of Artemia nauplii and their effective separation from unhatched cysts and empty shells. The factsheet describes key procedures for harvest preparation, nauplii collection using concentrator-rinser or sieve-based methods, and subsequent handling options, including direct feeding, short-term storage or enrichment. It also highlights critical operational considerations to maximize nauplii quality and purity while minimizing the risk of larval mortality associated with the presence of cyst shells. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the enrichment of Artemia nauplii to enhance their nutritional value before feeding to fish and shrimp larvae. The factsheet outlines the key steps involved in nauplii enrichment, including tank preparation, enrichment product preparation and application, harvesting of enriched nauplii, and storage options. It also highlights critical operational parameters, such as nauplii density, dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH, to support effective enrichment and the production of high-quality live feed for hatchery operations. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

This technical guidance factsheet was developed as part of a series of practical on-farm hatchery management guides based on the FAO Artemia Manual. It provides a concise, user-friendly reference for hatchery operators on the cold storage of Artemia nauplii to maintain their nutritional quality for short-term use. The factsheet outlines key requirements for successful storage, including nauplius stage selection, stocking density, temperature control, aeration and oxygen management, and maximum storage duration. It also highlights critical monitoring points to help maintain nauplii quality and viability while ensuring a reliable supply of live feed for hatchery operations. Presented in a highly visual format, the guide transforms the detailed information contained in the FAO Artemia Manual into a practical tool that supports the safe and effective production of high-quality Artemia for aquaculture hatcheries.

An Artemia Session was held on 5 June at the World Aquaculture 2026 conference in Singapore. The session was facilitated by the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium and covered the outcome of the World Bank PROBLUE Artemia Study Accelerating Brine Shrimp Artemia Aquaculture Production and Conservation for a Resilient Blue Economy.

The session featured case studies from China, Bangladesh, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Iran and Kenya. Presentations (PPTs and videos) from the session are available for download, and video presentations are available for viewing online. The session was chaired by Yeong Yik Sung and Patrick Sorgeloos.

This synthesis report consolidates over half a year’s worth of technical research, market analysis, and country level value chain assessments to present a comprehensive investment overview of the brine shrimp - Artemia - aquabusiness. Developed as part of the World Bank’s PROBLUE initiative on sustainable aquaculture and blue economy development, the report draws together the findings of six assessments, covering Artemia production systems, governance frameworks, markets and trade, emerging use cases, inventories of innovators, and in-depth country value chain studies.

The purpose of this synthesis report is to:

• Provide an integrated overview of the current state and future potential of farmed Artemia systems.
• Present investor-ready intelligence on country contexts, production models, and enabling conditions.
• Guide strategic decision-making across public, private, and donor stakeholders through a concise but data-driven road map for investment and scale.

Artemia, commonly known as brine shrimp, is a critical live feed ingredient in aquaculture, particularly for shrimp and marine finfish hatcheries. The global Artemia industry is experiencing increasing demand driven by expanding aquaculture production. This report provides an in-depth analysis of Artemia in five key countries where Artemia aquaculture is established or in early stages of development — Viet Nam, China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Kenya. The studies highlight Artemia value chains and associated production systems, market potential, and investment needs.

The findings confirm that Artemia can be successfully, profitably, and sustainably produced through aquaculture as cyst or biomass products in hypersaline environments, across diverse systems, providing important and critical products for aquaculture, with potential for wider application and product development as aquafeed and human food.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Prof. John A. Beardmore (1930–2026) passed away on June 29 after a short illness, surrounded by his family.

John Beardmore was Professor of Genetics and Head of the Department of Genetics at Swansea University (UK), later also serving as Director of the Institute of Marine Studies and Head of the School of Biological Sciences.

For many of us, Prof. Beardmore was a teacher, guide, source of inspiration, and dear friend.

A renowned Drosophila geneticist, he became interested in fish genetics and, in the late 1970s, in Artemia, describing the brine shrimp in a paper with Gonzalo Gajardo as “the aquatic Drosophila.”

He was the PhD promotor and advisor of several PhD students working on Artemia across different continents. He was a valued advisor to the Artemia Reference Center from his first visit in 1978 onward, played a crucial role in establishing the International Study on Artemia, and was a strong advocate of interdisciplinary cooperation.

For more than 10 years, he was a visiting professor at Ghent University for the course “Aquaculture Genetics” in the “MSc in Aquaculture” program. Many students from four continents have fond memories of their beloved professor of genetics.

Shortly after the establishment of the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium, John accepted the role of IAAC Honorary Scientific Advisor. In a video meeting in July 2023, he shared his recommendations for future IAAC activities.

We are proud to have known and learned from Prof. John Beardmore, a great scientist and teacher, and a very warm and amiable person.

Through this message to his children James, Virginia, Hugo and Charlie, we extend our sincere condolences to his dear wife Patricia and to the entire family.

An overview of the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium, its mission, structure, and collaborative approach to advancing Artemia aquaculture. 

The Consortium brings together researchers, industry partners, and other stakeholders to promote knowledge exchange, support innovation, and address shared challenges.

The video offers a concise introduction to the Consortium's purpose, research priorities, and commitment to strengthening sustainable Artemia aquaculture through international cooperation.

Getting Artemia preparation wrong costs hatcheries in survival rates, wasted cysts, and feed bills. At Partnerships to Practice: An Artemia Workshop, held at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, industry, government, and researchers validated a new set of hatchery good-practice tools: SOP sheets, checklists, and demonstration videos covering Artemia biosecurity, enrichment, and biomass production in hatchery environments.

Delegates also discussed building a global inventory of Artemia genetic resources tracking genetic and nutritional characteristics, hatching rates and strain performance to help hatcheries pick the right strain for their systems instead of relying on guesswork. The goal of the practices, based on the FAO Manual on Artemia Production and Use, are to optimise yield and reduce wastage of expensive Artemia resources, and to provide instruction on cold storage, enrichment, and biosecurity on the hatchery floor.

In Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, farmer Ayapbergen Ajimuratov is turning one of the region's most enduring problems into a livelihood. As the Aral Sea has shrunk over decades, it has left behind land saturated with saline water too salty to drink or irrigate crops with. Rather than treating it as waste, Ayapbergen has channelled it into six aquaculture ponds on a single hectare of land, becoming one of the first farmers in the district to cultivate Artemia and raise snakehead fish on a circular system where each stage feeds the next.

With support from a UNDP project backed by the Government of the Russian Federation, he received the ponds along with solar panels, a power transformer, a freezer for the harvest, and an on-site cabin. A community water purification system supplies around 1,500 cubic metres of saline water year-round. The farm is now producing fish and employing local workers - a small but meaningful step in rebuilding livelihoods in one of the world's most environmentally damaged regions.

Read the full story at the UNDP Uzbekistan website.

Artemia show substantial differences in their characteristics not only between species, but also between populations of the same species. There are multiple parthenogenic lineages with distinct genesis. A new IAAC paper addresses the persistent issue of failing to correctly document the provenance of Artemia used in research.

Abstract: Brine shrimp (Artemia) are indispensable in global aquaculture and widely utilized as model organisms across diverse biological disciplines. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion of published studies suffer from irreproducibility and reduced reliability, often due to inadequate consideration of taxonomic resolution. In particular, the persistent and erroneous application of the binomial designation Artemia salina as a generic reference to all species, populations, and parthenogenetic lineages represents a major source of confusion. This article emphasizes that taxonomy is not merely a formal exercise in classical biology but a fundamental scientific framework for cataloguing and conserving Artemia wild biodiversity at both the population/lineage and species levels, in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). In the absence of taxonomic verification and clear documentation of the geographic origin of Artemia specimens, the findings of most studies committing this A. salina fallacy cannot be reliably reproduced or independently validated.

Full paper available from:

• Asem A, Gajardo G, Sui L, Sung YY and Sorgeloos P (2026). The "Artemia salina" fallacy: resolving taxonomic misidentification in the brine shrimp model organism used across diverse biological disciplines. Zoological Joural of the Linnean Society 207(2):zlag103.