International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium

A free webinar "Farming resilience: Unlocking the Artemia opportunity" will be held on 30 October from 8:00-11:00 EST (13:00-16:00 UTC). This webinar will present the results of an in-depth analysis of Artemia production, conservation and investment opportunities by the World Bank Group, with expert input from members of the International Artemia Consortium.

Artemia (brine shrimp) is a critical live feed in aquaculture, particularly in hatcheries for shrimp, fish, and ornamental species. Its production and sustainable management are increasingly important as aquaculture expands globally. Global Artemia markets face increasing demand, while new innovations in farming, processing, and conservation offer opportunities for inclusive investment, resilience, and biodiversity protection.

This event will bring together global experts, policymakers, private sector representatives, and development partners to discuss the state of Artemia production and conservation, market opportunities, regulatory frameworks, and pathways for sustainable and viable investment.

The Global Artemia Summit was held on 27 June 2025 in Entebbe, Uganda, as a special session during the World Aquaculture Society’s Safari Conference. Co-hosted by the World Bank and FutureFish, the event brought together experts, government officials, private sector stakeholders, and researchers to discuss strategies for enhancing Artemia aquaculture and conservation.

The summit addressed growing concerns over Artemia resource constraints due to overharvesting, environmental degradation, and climate impacts, while highlighting new opportunities for sustainable production, particularly in Africa. Sessions explored integrated Artemia-salt farming systems, human food applications, value chain development, and public-private investment models. Panel discussions and networking sessions promoted knowledge exchange and south-south collaboration.

The brine shrimp Artemia, a crustacean adapted to the extreme conditions of hypersaline environments, comprises nine regionally distributed sexual species scattered (island-like) over heterogeneous environments and asexual (parthenogenetic) lineages with different ploidies. Such sexual and asexual interaction within the genus raises questions regarding the origin and time of divergence of both sexual species and asexual lineages, including the persistence of the latter over time, a problem not yet clarified using single mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Based on the complete mitochondrial genome of all species and parthenogenetic lineages, this article first describes the mitogenomic characteristics (nucleotide compositions, genome mapping, codon usage, and tRNA secondary structure) of sexual species and asexual types and, secondly, it provides a comprehensive updated phylogenetic analysis. Molecular dating and geographical evidence suggest that the ancestral Artemia taxon originated in ca. 33.97 Mya during the Paleogene Period. The mitogenomic comparisons suggest that the common ancestor of diploid and triploid parthenogenetic lineages (ca. 0.07 Mya) originated from a historical ancestor (ca. 0.61 Mya) in the Late Pleistocene. Additionally, the common ancestor of tetraploid and pentaploid parthenogenetic lineages (ca. 0.05 Mya) diverged from a historical maternal ancestor with A. sinica (ca. 0.96 Mya) in the early Pleistocene. The parthenogenetic lineages do not share a direct ancestor with any sexual species. The Asian clade ancestor diverged more recently (ca. 14.27 Mya, Middle Miocene). The mitogenomic characteristics, maternal phylogenetic tree, and especially divergence time prove that A. monica and A. franciscana are two biological species.

The first International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium (IAAC) conference was a free half day event held in Ostend, Belgium on 9 September, as a prelude to Larvi 2024. The conference presentations provided an overview of many of the issues surrounding Artemia, including management of salt lakes habitats that still provide the bulk of global Artemia supplies, Artemia biodiversity, hatching optimisation, and aquaculture of Artemia biomass in tanks and ponds. Video recordings of the presentations are available within.

Presentation by Liying Sui at the First International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium Conference, 9 September 2024, Ostend, Belgium.

Presentation by Stephanie De Vos at the First International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium Conference, 9 September 2024, Ostend, Belgium.

Video recordings of presentations from the Training project on management of Artemia resources and salt lake habitats are available. The project addressed the hydrological, biological, ecological, wildlife and legislative aspects of Artemia resource management, conservation and farming. Artemia species and strains need to be safeguarded and characterised for use in aquaculture. The ecological heterogeneity and dynamics of their salt lake habitats, influenced by climate change and human intervention, require an integrated and coordinated approach to their management and utilisation. The project was co-organised by FAO, NACA, IAAC and funded by Alliance of National and International Science Organizations, and the Belgian Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences.

Opening remarks at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels. Speakers were: Xinhua Yuan, Philippe De Maeyer, Simon Wilkinson, Wang Zhongxiu.

Presentation by Patrick Sorgeloos at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Naser Agh at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Galina Tsareva at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Graham Mair at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Gonzalo Gajardo at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Sui Liying and Xuekai Han at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Elena Boyko at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

Presentation by Kamila Adyrbekova at the Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture, held 2-6 September 2024 in Rome / Brussels.

The first ever IAAC conference was a free half day even held in Ostend, Belgium on 9 September, as a prelude to Larvi 2024, which ran from 9-12 September. The conference featured twelve presentations introducing the IAAC and providing an overview of many of the issues surrounding Artemia, including management of salt lakes habitats that still provide the bulk of global Artemia supplies, Artemia biodiversity, hatching optimisation, and aquaculture of Artemia biomass in tanks and ponds. Video recordings of most will be posted shortly (the programme below will be updated with links).

The first IAAC Members’ Meeting was held in the afternoon following the IAAC Conference. The proceedings involved two panel discussions, by the Academic Sector and Private Sector respectively. The panels included remote members participating via Zoom.

The Training Programme on Safeguarding Salt Lake Brine Shrimp (Artemia) Resources for Aquaculture was held in Rome from 2-6 September. The course was attended by 37 participants from 15 countries. The programme was jointly organised by FAO, NACA / IAAC, and by RAOS and ANSO, which provided the financial support that made the activity possible. The programme featured a series of expert presentations on three themes: Salt lakes, management tools for Artemia cyst and biomass harvesting, and Artemia biodiversity. The full programme is appended below, and video recordings of most presentations will shortly be made available on NACA’s YouTube channel.

A training project addressing Artemia management and conservation from hydrological, biological, ecological, aquaculture, wildlife and legislative perspectives will be held in Rome, Italy, from 2-6 September 2024. The training is being organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), with the financial support of the Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO) and the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences (RAOS), in cooperation with the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium (IAAC). The project will address hydrological, biological, ecological, aquaculture, wildlife and legislative aspects of Artemia management and conservation.

The 8th fish and shellfish larviculture symposium (larvi '24) will be held in Ghent University, Belgium, from 9-12 September 2024. Capitalising on the previous “larvi” symposia (in ’91, ’95, ’01, ’05, ’09, ’13, ‘17), the Aquaculture R&D Consortium of Ghent University, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and SINTEF Ocean have joined again in the organizing committee for “larvi’24” and are inviting the academic as well as the private sector to attend the 8th Fish and Shellfish Larviculture Symposium. Bringing together European and non-European stakeholders, once again the latest progress in academic research and in the production sector will be reviewed, problems identified and avenues for future collaboration explored. Please download the 2nd announcement and programme for further information.

The first International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium conference will also be held in conjuction with larvi '24, on 9 September. See you there!