International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium

From 11-13 July 2023, the first "Sustainable Development and Utilisation of Artemia Resources" training course was successfully held in Tianjin, China. The training course was organised by the Asian Regional Artemia Reference Center (ARARC), with the support of the Artemia Association of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance.

The course contains theoretical, practical, and operational training on Artemia cyst processing and quality control, effective utilisation of Artemia as live food in hatcheries, and Artemia pond culture techniques, aiming to promote the sustainable exploration of Artemia resources and their application in larviculture. Nearly one hundred trainees from over thirty enterprises, institutes, and universities across the country participated in the training. The comprehensive coverage of the training course was well recognised by the trainees.

The first conference of the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium will be organized on September 9, 2024 in Ostend, Belgium. The 8th International Fish & Shellfish Larviculture Symposium - Larvi ’24 - will be organised at the same venue in Ostend from 9-12 September 2024.

A more detailed first announcement with call for presentations will be mailed in the first week of October 2023. A preliminary website has been opened where you can register your interest to participate in this event.

Presentation by Simon Wilkinson, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, at the Seminar on Artemia Research and Production, 28 July 2023, Putrajaya, Malaysia.

SALT LAKE CITY, May 15, 2023 – Utah’s Great Salt Lake brine shrimp fishery has officially achieved the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) sustainable wild fishery certification, making it the first inland fishery in the United States to earn this prestigious certification.

Brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) are a small, shrimp-like crustacean that live in hypersaline lake environments and are a vital part of the lake's ecosystem, serving as a food source for numerous bird species and providing an important source of income for local fishermen.

The MSC certification process is rigorous and requires fisheries to meet strict standards for sustainable fishing practices, environmental impact, and management. The Great Salt Lake brine shrimp fishery underwent a thorough 8-month assessment by an independent, third-party certifier and was found to meet MSC's criteria for environmentally sustainability fishing practices.

Brine shrimp Artemia nauplii constitute the most widely used live-food item for the larviculture of crustaceans and fish. The unique property of Artemia is its ability to to form dormant embryos or 'cysts'. The cysts are available year-round in large quantities along the shorelines of hypersaline lakes, coastal lagoons and solar salt works.

The aim of this manual is to provide technological guidelines to extension agents, researchers, and salt farmers on Artemia production in salt farms in Cox’s Bazar. The manual was prepared through review recent of activities in Artemia production, the 1996 FAO Manual on the production and use of live food for aquaculture, the 2019 book “ Principle of Artemia culture in solar salt works”, relevant books and published research papers. The manual covers Artemia biology and ecology, standard methods for incubation and stocking, pond management, feeding, health, harvesting and more.

Artemia nauplii are an excellent live food for larviculture of crustaceans and marine fish due to their high digestible protein content, essential fatty acids and small in size. In many countries, hatchery workers lack sufficient knowledge and practices in the application of Artemia nauplii during larval rearing are not standardised. This has resulted in increased costs, disease incidence, and reduced survival in larval rearing.

This training manual on Artemia hatching and decapsulation provides guidance on optimising the use of Artemia nauplii in larval rearing. In addition, the standardised hatching procedure can be used to inoculate Artemia nauplii for culture in the salt farms of Bangladesh. 

Introduction by Simon Wilkinson, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, and Patrick Sorgeloos, Artemia Reference Center, Belgium, at the Webinar on Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

Presentation by Thomas Bosteels, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative Inc., at the Webinar on Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

Presentation by Timothy Hawkes, Utah State Representative, at the Webinar of Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

Presentation by Thomas Bosteels, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative Inc., at the Webinar on Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

Presentation by Timothy Hawkes, Utah State Representative, at the Webinar of Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

Presentation by Thomas Bosteels, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, at the SDG-aligned Artemia Aquaculture Workshop held 22 September 2021.