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, namely: Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, China, Georgia, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, USA, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. 23 organisations were represented, including three government agencies, seven private sector, ten academic and one NGO.

The proceedings were opened by Xinhua Yuan, Deputy Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Welcome remarks were delivered by Philippe De Maeyer, Permanent Secretary, Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences (RAOS); by Simon Wilkinson, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) / International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium (IAAC); and representative of the Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO).

The programme was jointly organised by FAO, NACA / IAAC, and by RAOS and ANSO, which provided the financial support that made the activity possible.

Programme (videos of presentations available)

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.

For more information, please visit the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium website.

Salt lakes

• Hydrology and climatology of salt lakes: development and use of appropriate models to safeguard water resources, impact of climate change.
  Alishir Kurban
• Presence and role of Artemia in salt lakes: biology and ecology, use in aquaculture.
  Patrick Sorgeloos
• Urmia Lake, Iran: example of terminal lake, fate of Artemia presence.
  Naser Agh
• Aral Sea, Uzbekistan: example of terminal lake, fate of Artemia presence.
  Ablatdyin Musaev

Management tools for Artemia cyst and biomass harvesting

• History of the interdisciplinary approach by the State of Utah and stakeholder groups to develop strategy and policy to safeguard Great Salt Lake and its vital resources for wildlife and industry
  Thomas Bosteels and Tim Hawkes
• Management tools and quota systems for the exploitation of Artemia resources in China
  Gao Song
• Management tools and quota systems for the exploitation of Artemia resources in Siberia, Russia
  Liudmila Litvinienko and Marina Korentovich
• Artemia of Greate Yarovoye Lake (Siberia, Russia): characteristics of the population and Artemia resource development
  Galina Tsareva
• Management tools and quota systems for the exploitation of Artemia resources in Kazakhstan
  Chingis Sossorbarmayev
• Artemia pond production projects
  Nguyen Van Hoa and Patrick Sorgeloos

Artemia biodiversity

• AquaGRIS: the role it can play in characterising, recording and monitoring Artemia genetic diversity
  Graham Mair
• World Artemia biodiversity
  Gonzalo Gajardo
• Artemia biodiversity in China
  Sui Liying and Xuekai Han
• Artemia biodiversity in Russia
  Elena Boyko
• Artemia biodiversity in Kazakhstan
  Kamila Adyrbekova
• New techniques for (epi)genotyping of Artemia species and strains
  Parisa Norouzitallab

Group discussions

Participants and experts engaged in group discussions on:

• Biological aspects of salt lakes such as models to estimate the role of Artemia as a food source for water birds; sampling protocols and methodologies to estimate maximum sustainable yields for Artemia cysts and biomass; potential impacts of climate change, ecology and pathogens on Artemia populations; and guidelines for establishing sustainable management protocols, harvesting quota and seasons, and measures to enforce / adjust quotas during the harvesting seasons. 
• Policy needs and legislative strategies to address issues such as protecting and managing terminal and emerging salt lakes, water resources, salinity regimes, nutrient intake and contamination. The group considered similarities and differences between terminal lakes under different contexts, the policy (legislative) goals required to ensure healthy and sustainable resources, barriers to progress towards these goals and strategies to overcome them.
• Farming of Artemia needs to focus on advancing sustainable management and genetic research of Artemia resources and salt lake ecosystems. Key actions include establishing a Task Force to apply AquaGRIS, an information system on aquatic biodiversity for food and agriculture (which will be the subject of a follow up article), for commercial Artemia sources, developing guidelines for ecosystem monitoring, and promoting sustainable harvest practices. Innovations like satellite imagery and drones should be explored to assess Artemia stocks. Joint research should link optimal Artemia usage to hatchery outcomes and address climate change impacts. Guidelines for Artemia cyst certification, biosecurity, and controlled farming should be developed, alongside preserving gene pools through cyst banks and characterising farmed types for commercial traits.

Videoconference with experts and recommendations

The discussions culminated in the development of a series of recommendations, which were further discussed and agreed during a videoconference on 6 September between the trainees at FAO HQ in Rome and experts at the Palais des Académies in Brussels. The final recommendations were as follows.

• Establish a Task Force to apply AquaGRIS for commercial Artemia sources using a stepwise approach to gathering and collating genetic information. The Task Force has been constituted and will begin work shortly.
• Develop guidelines for monitoring, adaptive management, conservation / water rights and sustainable harvest of salt lake ecosystems based on local biology and ecology. 
• Share ideas about effective messaging to improve public perception of terminal salt lakes and their role, ecosystem services and socio-economic value.
• Advance the capabilities of Artemia stakeholders in translating science into clear and actionable protocols.
• Study the possibility of using innovations such as satellite imagery and drones to evaluate Artemia cyst accumulations / stocks and the status of salt lake ecosystems.
• Develop guidelines for Artemia cyst certification including good processing practices.
• Implement existing certification schemes for the sustainable harvesting and management of natural Artemia resources.
• Recommend good practices including biosecurity for Artemia hatching and use in hatcheries as set out in the new FAO Artemia Manual and train hatchery technicians in their use.
• Determine the critical role and research the optimal use of Artemia in hatchery applications.
• Conduct joint public / private studies to determine the link between optimal Artemia usage, both quantity and quality, and its link to good health, growth and harvest outcomes.
• Conduct research on the impact of climate change on natural Artemia resources and their host salt lake ecosystems, prioritising commercially or potentially important stocks such as those in Tibet.
• Preserve the gene pool of wild and farmed types through establishment of cyst banks and management of salt lake habitats. It is not good practice to translocate Artemia between habitats.
• Establish standardised protocols for the establishment and long-term sustainment of Artemia cyst banks and their accession by researchers and industry.
• Promote controlled farming of Artemia, including in artisanal ponds, salt affected lands and coastal areas, selecting suitable Artemia species / strains for the specific application.
• Evaluate the performance of Artemia franciscana relative to other species / strains (including parthenogenetic strains) for use in seasonal farming in different environments / conditions.
• Farmed types should be genetically characterised and their performance evaluated with regards to commercially important traits.
• Evaluate the adaptive capacity (epigenetic and genetic characteristics) of Artemia species and strains and their changes over time in different localities / environments.
• Explore opportunities for use of unconventional water bodies for Artemia production.
• Produce a summary of key procedures from the new FAO Artemia Manual for publication in additional languages and formats / media.

Field trip to Tarquinia salt works

The last day of the programme in Rome featured a field trip to the Tarquinia salt works, a solar facility that has been producing salt since ancient Etruscan and Roman times, with various interruptions, until it finally became uneconomic. While salt production ceased in 1987 the area has since been declared a nature reserve, and a scientific centre has been established on site. Artemia salina is known to occur in the remains of the salt works. A couple of specimens were sighted by members of the group, but they were not abundant at the time.

For more information about the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium, which is hosted as programme of NACA, please visit the IAAC consortium website.