Australia opens world's first commercial brine-shrimp farm

Western Australia recently saw an opening of the world's first cutting edge-design commercial brine-shrimp farm at Port Gregory, Geraldton.

The Department of Fisheries had developed the technologically-advanced facility to cultivate the minute brine-shrimp, in partnership with Cognis Australia, the world's biggest producer of the naturally occurring red pigment, beta-carotene, according to the minister of fisheries, Norman Moore.

The farm is located at Cognis Australia's Hutt Lagoon, Port Gregory plant, where the company farms micro-algae from which beta-carotene is extracted.

"This new facility has potential to create a new multi-million dollar industry in rural Western Australia and will help lead to more sustainable fish farming practices both domestically and internationally," Moore said.

The project is a collaboration between the state government, the aquaculture industry and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC). It embodies the government's goal of promoting sustainable fishing and aquaculture practices and ensuring there are fish for future generation, according to Moore.

Brine-shrimp, also known as Artemia or 'sea monkeys' are a key component of the food used in the commercial aquaculture of fish and prawns. They feed on micro-algae and can be an unwanted pest in the production of beta-carotene.

However, researchers have devised an Artemia-rearing system that can work effectively in tandem with Cognis' large-scale commercial micro-algae plant, turning a potential threat into an opportunity.

Artemia produced at the plant will also help fill the regular gaps in Artemia supply to Australia's commercial aquaculture industry as a result of market shortfalls, added Moore.