In the News
Hot Off the Press
31 January 2006
Close of the 2005-2006 Brine Shrimp Harvest Season Announced
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced the immediate closure of the 2004-2005 brine shrimp harvest season on Jan. 25, 2006, affecting all harvest operations on the South Arm of the Great Salt Lake and effectively terminating the season. The closure was prompted when cyst density in the South Arm, as monitored by the DWR, fell to a level of 24.6 cysts per liter - a level nearing the threshold level of 21 cysts per liter - a number considered adequate to re-inoculate the lake in the spring.
The total reported catch as of this date was 9,484,047 lbs., substantially better than the previous year's catch of approximately 5 million pounds, but less than the bumper harvest in 2002-2003 of nearly 26 million pounds. This year's reported weight and historical weights are "wet" weights and take into account residual water, cysts, empty shells, brine shrimp biomass, algae, soil and detritus that is pumped, skimmed or scraped from the Great Salt Lake's surface water and shorelines. It is not uncommon to expect a yield of 20 - 30% of finished "dry" product from the reported wet weight. The finished dried product, in turn, yields a distribution of various grades or hatch-out percentages, varying from the non-saleable to the Premium Grade.
Though we are often asked, it is difficult to predict where prices will be 6 months from now. There are, as always, a number of countervailing forces that will affect the price of brine shrimp egg: Recent consolidation of the brine shrimp industry, rising fuel costs, a winding down of inventory carried over from the record 2002 harvest, and the worldwide growth in aquaculture will probably continue to support prices at or near current levels. On the other hand, further development of natural and managed artemia resources throughout the world, the growth in artificial "replacement" diets (for aquaculture), and unforeseen economic events or ecological disasters that may negatively impact shrimp farming - the largest end-use of brine shrimp egg - may impinge upon the demand for brine shrimp and depress prices of this worldwide commodity.
<< back to top
