A harvesting boat with trailing boom corrals a slick of brine shrimp (Artemia) cysts on the Great Salt Lake, Utah (USA). The large boat and a small trailer boat drift down the slick with the floating cysts. The boom is similar to that used to remove oil spills.


After an hour or more the two boats will close the boom and pump the cysts up to porous bags, allowing the water to drain out. After processing, the brine shrimp cysts (eggs) are sold and used in aquaculture (largely prawn culture).



The brine shrimp cysts are a resting stage that is produced by the adults late in the summer. After floating through the cold winter, they will hatch into small nauplii the following spring, thus continuing the life cycle.



Photo: 15 October 2009