International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium

Presentation by Patrick Sorgeloos, Artemia Reference Center, Ghent University, at the webinar on "Status of the use of Artemia cysts in fish/crustacean hatcheries around the world".

Presentation by Prof. Patrick Sorgeloos, Ghent University, at the SDG-aligned Artemia Aquaculture Workshop, 22 September 2021.

Report of the webinar "Status of the use of Artemia cysts in fish and crustacean hatcheries around the world", held on 2 September 2021.

With the expansion of hatchery production, the demand for Artemia cysts has continued to increase. Annual consumption is now estimated at 3,500 – 4,000 tonnes, underpinning the production of over 900 billion crustacean post larvae and fish fry by a hatchery industry valued at more than USD 2 billion and the final production of over 10 million tonnes of high-value aquaculture species. With approximately 90 percent of the current Artemia production harvested from inland salt lakes, the future of the hatchery industry could be at risk and requires urgent attention. The workshop explored needs and opportunities for a new international initiative to guarantee a more sustainable provision of Artemia, both from farmed and natural sources.

The goal of the webinar was to document differences in practices used by fish and crustacean hatcheries in the use of Artemia cysts for the preparation of live feeds. Over time, the practices used by hatcheries in Asia, Europe and Latin America have diverged from the good aquaculture practices for Artemia production recommended by FAO in the 1996 Live Food Manual. The technical programme included presentations from twelve speakers from around the world, with an introduction from the Director General of NACA, Huang Jie. The webinar was attended by 359 people from 53 countries. Video recordings of the technical presentations are enclosed, together with the report of the proceedings.