More than 40 years after the International Study on Artemia (an international interdisciplinary study of Artemia species and strains) was launched, which resulted in a lot of new knowledge and several new developments in fish and crustacean larviculture, there are several reasons to launch a new initiative to ensure a more sustainable provision of Artemia and to explore several new opportunities such as conservation of Artemia biodiversity, science-based protocols development for sustainable harvesting of wild sources, strain selection and selective breeding, propagation of improved guidelines, updated FAO Artemia manual and increased training and extension services, and many more. A meeting of Artemia experts in Kuala Lumpur in November 2019 envisaged establishing the International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium, a network of scientists, organizations, and the private sector that would collaborate in exploring opportunities. A provisional Steering Committee was formed along with members from 27 participating countries.
Following webinars on the History of Artemia Activities in Africa, Management of Artemia Resources of the Great Salt Lake, NACA Webinar on the Status of the Use of Artemia Cysts in Fish/Crustacean Hatcheries Around the World, a final consortium’s SDG-aligned Artemia Aquaculture Workshop was held in September 2021 upon invitation of and in conjunction with the Global Conference on Aquaculture Millennium +20.
This new International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium (IAAC) was well received at the last FAO COFI Subcommittee on Aquaculture (SCAQ). Its structure and activities are now being finalized under the coordination of NACA who also hosts the IAAC website and prepares for the key conclusions and recommendations to be presented at the FAO COFI SCAQ meeting to be held in Mexico in 2023.