We present two novel applications on the use of Artemia in aquaculture, namely the production of live Artemia nauplii in paste form and the production of live Artemia biomass from a Natural Recirculating Aquaculture System (NRAS), both are used in shrimp hatcheries and nurseries. Both applications help optimize crustacean aquaculture by supplying essential, disease-free live feeds and optimizing or supplementing the use of Artemia cysts harvested from natural habitats.
The Artemia nauplii paste is produced in specialized Artemia nauplii hatcheries resulting in pure, disease-free nauplii with more than 95% survival. The technology allows for the production of 99% instar I nauplii using any species or strain of Artemia including A.franciscana from Great Salt Lake. Alternatively, enriched Instar II Artemia paste can be produced when nutritional requirements need to be enhanced for specific applications. The live Artemia paste is distributed to shrimp hatcheries and nurseries on a daily basis.
The live Artemia biomass is grown in an NRAS where the Artemia production runs parallel to the production of Asian seabass, tilapia, mud crab as well as M. rosenbergii and P. monodon broodstock and nauplii. The biomass which is free of shrimp pathogens, is typically a mixture of adult and juvenile Artemia and is sold in live form to shrimp hatcheries and nurseries for juvenile shrimp and broodstock feeding.
Both applications support marine aquaculture by optimizing and supplementing the use of the essential live feed Artemia harvested from natural habitats. Artemia hatcheries maximize the yield of Artemia cysts through the implementation of optimal hatching protocols. Furthermore, by providing disease free live nauplii paste, the Artemia hatcheries help reduce disease losses in larval and early PL stages. Live pathogen free Artemia biomass production provides an alternative live feed to supplements Artemia nauplii originating from natural habitats during late hatchery and nursery phases of shrimp production thus producing more robust juveniles and optimizing subsequent yields during the grow-out phase of shrimp production.