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. 

The International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium (IAAC) hosted a webinar on Management of the Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, 5 May 2022, at 14:00 UTC. The purpose of the webinar was to familiarise participants with recent international developments in Artemia research cooperation, and to examine the Great Salt Lake as a case study in successful management of Artemia resources in a multi-stakeholder environment.

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.

Q&A and panel discussion at the Webinar on Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

Closing remarks by Mike Rust, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA, at the Webinar on Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, Utah USA.

The webinar, held on 4 May 2022, was necessitated by the fact that Artemia production has been ongoing on the continent for more than four decades, similar to Asia, but without any distinctive levels of success. The world demand for Artemia cysts has continued to increase and annual consumption is now estimated at 3,500 – 4,000 tonnes with Asia being the largest producer and consumer globally while Africa lags behind in both production and utilisation, despite Artemia having been introduced on the two continents at the same time. Diverse levels of Artemia activities in different African countries were presented, to take stock of where the continent is, explore opportunities and address the various challenges impeding the production and utilisation of Artemia for improved livelihoods and overall aquaculture development in Africa. A report and video recordings of the presentations are available.

Presentation by Betty Mindraa Nyonje, Eric Okuku (Director, KMFRI) and Patrick Sorgeloos at the "Webinar on the History of Artemia activities in Africa".

Presentation by Prof. Rasowo, Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya & Eddy Naessens, INVE Aquaculture, Belgium, at the "Webinar on the History of Artemia Activities in Africa".

Presentation by Morine Mukami, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, at the "Webinar on History of Artemia Activities in Africa".

Presentation by Mohamed Salah Romdhane, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Tunisia, at the "Webinar on History of Artemia Activities in Africa".