WorldFish Bangladesh holds workshop on Artemia Pond Culture in Cox`s Bazar

WorldFish Bangladesh, with the support of the European Union, organised a daylong workshop on the challenges and prospects of Artemia Pond Culture in Bangladesh on Thursday (10 March).

The event was held at the Seagull Hotel in Cox's Bazar as part of its project called "Artemia4Bangladesh", said a press release.

The keynote address was given by Emeritus Professor Dr Patrick Sorgeloos of Ghent University in Belgium.

The event was attended by Artemia farmers, NGOs, hatchery consultants, and representatives from the Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, and Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation.

Emilla T Quinton, consultant of Food and Agriculture organisation also participated in the workshop.

Speakers at the event discussed the challenges and opportunities of Artemia pond culture in Bangladesh, as well as the project's ongoing activities and recommendations.

They discussed the major activities planned for 2022, the socioeconomic structure of salt farmers, and the project's ongoing activities and recommendations. The session was facilitated by Dr Muhammad Meezanur Rahman, technical team leader, Artemia4Bangladesh.

According to the media release, several Asian countries, including Vietnam and Thailand, have implemented innovative technology to boost the profitability of their salt farms by producing Artemia cysts and biomass, according to Emeritus Professor Dr Patrick Sorgeloos. Integrated salt-Artemia manufacturing is a successful enterprise that has helped hundreds of households in Vietnam's Vinh Chau-Bac Lieu. Bangladesh's salt farm has the ability to create artemia cysts and biomass.

"Artemia's unusual ability to produce latent embryos known as "cysts" contributes significantly to its status as a convenient, suitable, and good larval feeding supply. Bangladesh currently imports 40-50 tonnes of dry Artemia cysts each year, worth over $5 million. Because of its high protein and fatty acid content, artemia is also used for human food," Dr Muhammad Meezanur Rahman noted.