World Aquaculture 37 2007). Although there was no resource assessment of A. urmiana after 2007, unofficial reports indicate that there is less than1cyst/L of Artemia urmiana in Urmia Lake. According to an evaluation in West Azerbaijan Province in 2002 (Mohebbi 2002), the establishment of a 100-ha Artemia farm, construction of an Artemia cyst processing facility with 210 tons capacity, and the establishment of a facility for Artemia culture in tanks with a 9000-m3 capacity, may create 76, 21, and 82 jobs, respectively. With regard to recent drought years and the environmental crisis in Urmia Lake, employment opportunities arising from the harvest, production, and processing of Artemia have been lost. Experts believe the current situation of Urmia Lake is a result of global climate change, dam projects in the watershed, and the development of non-mechanized farming in the lake basin. However, historical documents indicate that Urmia Lake experienced a severe drought more than 200 years ago. In 1800, the maximum depth was only 75 cm. The lake was so shallow that an east-west road was created through the lake bed and oral histories from elders confirm the presence of this road (Tamaddon 1971). This history indicates that Urmia Lake has undergone more extreme droughts than present but the lake subsequently recovered. Figure 4 shows the water level fluctuations of Urmia Lake from 1965 to 2009 (Ahadnejad Reveshty and Maruyama 2010, Asem et al. 2010). Figure 4 indicates that Urmia Lake experienced a drought from 1965 to 1968. The water level in that period matches that of 2003-2004 and the average salinity at that time was conceivably greater than 280 g/L (Asem et al. 2010). Although drought in Urmia Lake has been described as a crisis, this lake ecosystem has also experienced rising water and landward shifts of the shoreline. In 1993-1998, the lake reached its highest historical level (Fig. 4). During that period, hypersaline lake water and the advancing shoreline affected farms and coastal buildings, causing large financial losses. In those years, the average salinity was 180 g/L (Asem et al. 2010). Figure 5 shows Osman Yumrugu, the smallest island of Urmia Lake in two different ecological conditions, illustrating the wide range in historical lake elevation. This variability is also indicated in Figure 6, which displays the shoreline of Urmia Lake from 1976 to 2009 (Ahadnejad Reveshty and Maruyama 2010). Urmia Lake is one of the principle global ecosystems for Artemia production. The current drought has negatively affected Artemia production and consequently threatens the biodiversity of Urmia Lake National Park. Notes 1Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, Urmia Branch, Urmia, Iran 2Protectors of Urmia Lake National Park Society (NGO), Urmia, Iran, Email: alireza_1218@yahoo.com 3Iranian Artemia Research Center, Urmia, Iran Fig 4. Water level fluctuation of Urmia Lake (1965-2007) Fig. 5. Osman Yumrugu, the smallest island of Urmia Lake in two different ecological conditions.
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