Feasibility Study of Artemia Production in Saline Lakes in Western Uganda

PROJECT PROPOSAL

FEASIBILITY STUDY OF ARTEMIA PRODUCTION IN SALINE LAKES IN WESTERN UGANDA

LABORATORY OF AQUACULTURE & ARTEMIA REFERENCE CENTER GHENT UNIVERSITY, BELGIUM

Prof. Dr. Patrick Sorgeloos [email protected] Dr. Gilbert Van Stappen [email protected] ______

1. Background

1.1. Economic importance of Artemia The brine shrimp Artemia is a small crustacean (adult size: about 1 cm) occurring worldwide in natural hypersaline lakes, ponds and lagoons, as well as in man-operated solar saltworks. Being extremely osmotolerant, it survives in environments with salinities ranging between approximately 10 and 340 g l-1 with diverse ionic composition and temperature regime. In addition to its unique osmoregulatory capacity, brine shrimp is adapted to this harsh and often unstable environment by the capacity to produce diapausing cysts, dormant embryos enveloped in a rigid shell, when the conditions turn too unfavourable. Cysts can be produced in massive numbers, and the specific structure of the cyst shell ensures that large quantities of them float on the water surface.

Once harvested and properly processed, the cysts can be stored for several years, while the dried embryos stay in a state of arrested metabolism. Under the influence of environmental cues the diapause can be terminated, allowing the cyst to hatch under appropriate hatching conditions. The emerging larva (“nauplius”) – used as such or following a specific enrichment procedure to enhance its nutritional properties - is a convenient substitute for the natural plankton diet of fish and shrimp larvae in aquaculture facilities worldwide, largely thanks to its general availability, nutritional quality, and ease and versatility of use. Presently more than 2000 tons of dry cysts are marketed annually for use in fish and shellfish hatcheries worldwide; its price fluctuates according to the quality of the product and the rules of demand and offer, but is on the average in the order of 50 EUR per kg.

1.2. The brine shrimp Artemia in the world Ever since its first description, Artemia sites have been found and described throughout the world and their populations have been characterized. Presently about 600 sites have been described in literature. The distribution of these sites over the continents is very uneven; as such it is mainly a reflection of prospection and exploration activities, and as such does not give a precise picture of the actual occurrence of Artemia over the globe. Apart from inventories that aspire to cover the entire globe, several studies have confined their review of Artemia sites within certain geographical boundaries, as was done by Kaiser et al. (2006) for Africa (see further). The temporary decline of the Artemia cyst yields on the traditional harvesting ground, the Great Salt Lake in Utah, U.S.A. in the last years before the turn of the century, has intensified the search for alternative resources, especially in inland lakes.

Apart from natural habitats, such as inland salt lakes and coastal lagoons, brine shrimp also occur in numerous man-operated solar saltworks, where it fulfils a complex ecological role: the Artemia population controls the algal blooms; once dying and decomposing it provides a substrate for the bacterial population typical for this highly saline environment. As a result, its presence in the

1 saltworks operation has a beneficial effect for the salt farmer: proper management of an Artemia population will not only lead to increased salt production and quality, but will also provide opportunities for the harvest of a valuable by-product in the form of Artemia cysts and/or biomass. In small artisanal saltworks in (sub)tropical regions, e.g. in South East Asia, mostly operated on a seasonal basis, yields of 20 kg dry weight of cysts per ha and per month, and 2 tons wet weight of biomass per ha and per month can be achieved when they are managed for optimal Artemia production. Though of secondary importance (in terms of quantity), in comparison with e.g. Great Salt Lake cyst harvests, cyst material originating from these (sub)tropical saltworks have an important role on the local, regional and global Artemia market thanks to a number of specific and highly appreciated features, such as cyst size, nutritional composition, handling and processing characteristics etc..

1.3. The brine shrimp Artemia in Africa While the last decades have seen a relative expansion in the exploration of Artemia sites (and corresponding increase of knowledge of their populations) on most continents, the knowledge of African sites has remained rather stationary and still shows major gaps. The species A. salina is known from the Mediterranean basin, but also from a number of salt pans in South Africa. Parthenogenetic strains have been described for a few places scattered over the continent, especially in its southern part. A systematic survey in sub-Saharan Africa, however, is non-existent, except for South Africa, where intensive research has been conducted over the last decade. A review by Kaiser et al. (2006)* listed about 130 African Artemia sites: this is a very low figure, taking into account the dimensions of the continent, and the vast part of it where suitable climatological conditions exist for the occurrence of various types of hypersaline ecosystems; for comparison: in Spain alone about 50 sites have been described. Apart from North and South Africa, however, the list compiled by Kaiser et al. is very limited; for Central and Eastern Africa, it only lists a few sites in Kenya.

*Kaiser, H., Gordon, A.K., Paulet, T.G. 2006. Review of the African distribution of the brine shrimp genus Artemia. Water SA 32(4) 597-603.

1.4. The brine shrimp Artemia in Uganda

No literature or ‘grey’ data whatsoever are available on the occurrence of Artemia in Uganda.

In June 2008 Prof Patrick Sorgeloos of the Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center (ARC), Ghent University, Belgium was approached by Prof. Bill Daniels and Dr Ron Phelps (Auburn University, Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Alabama-USA) who had discovered a few Artemia cysts on the shore of a salt lake in West Uganda. They wanted to know about the potential to develop Artemia production as this could be a very valuable source of live food for the emerging fish hatcheries in Uganda and other countries in Africa.

Upon invitation of the Consul of Uganda in Belgium and with the financial assistance of the Province of East Flanders, Belgium, Prof. P. Sorgeloos, conducted a first orientation mission to Western Uganda, visiting a number of reportedly saline lakes in the Queen Elisabeth Park and Kabarole District. Together with local authorities, the potential development of Artemia production in the lakes with the highest salt content was discussed, as well as the possibility of fish cage farming in local fresh and brackish water lakes.

The scientific results of this mission, based on field observations and on preliminary laboratory tests, conducted at the ARC with limited quantities of water of some of the lakes, can be summarized as follows:

2 Lake Katwe  Salinity 220 g/l; very high primary productivity  Has local artisanal commercial salt exploitation; poor salt quality; used in cattle feed and for human consumption  No Artemia (cysts nor biomass) observed

Lake Bunyampaka  Salinity 160 g/l; very high primary productivity  Has local artisanal commercial salt exploitation; Halobacterium blooms may be an indication of previous Artemia occurrence; somewhat better salt quality as compared to L. Katwe  High viscosity in some salt ponds as a consequence of excessive algal blooms  No Artemia (cysts nor biomass) observed

Other lakes visited in the area (L. Munyanyange, Nyamunuka, Kikorongo, Saaka, Nyabikere, Kifuruka, Ntambi were freshwater, brackish, or moderately saline (maximum 30 g/l) at the time of sampling. Lakes vary from shallow to (very) deep and from (based on visual observation) oligotrophic to very eutrophic. In some lakes (e.g. Saaka) Tilapia and Nile perch gillnet fishing is practiced.

Following transport to ARC, L. Katwe and Bunyampaka water was chemically analyzed at Ghent University (Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Applied Ecochemistry). When expressing the ion concentration as ionic rates compared to seawater, this analysis produced the following results:

Ionic rate Katwa Bunyampaka Sea water - 2- Cl /SO4 1.48 3.11 7.16 Cl-/Na+ + K+ 0.55 1.15 1.73 Mg2+/Ca2+ 8.06 1.15 3.18

In spite of the ionic composition of L. Bunyampaka water deviating from seawater, a limited laboratory culture test with Artemia franciscana from Vinh Chau (Vietnam), ecologically adapted to seawater ionic composition, resulted in good survival when cultured in diluted (down to 100 g/l) Bunyampaka water for 1 week from hatching onwards (corresponding with the most sensitive life stage). A similar culture test in diluted (100 g/l) L. Katwa water was not successful though, but since the water samples were not stored refrigerated during transport, this mortality is not necessarily linked to an unfavourable ionic composition (e.g. the high organic load may have resulted in putrefaction, leading to increased concentrations of toxic products in the medium).

2. Feasibility project rationale

The above field observations and preliminary laboratory tests show that a feasibility study to assess the potential production of Artemia in (a number of) Western Ugandese lakes is justified. The present project thus aims to explore the potential to develop Artemia production in highly saline lakes, with an initial focus on a few selected salt lakes, as a new commercial source of a) Artemia cysts for domestic use in fish production (hatcheries) – and possibly for export) and b) Artemia biomass, which can be valorized as Artemia meal, being a high-protein alternative for fish meal, for local use in fish feed formulations, offering improved socio-economic situation (incl. new labor for Artemia and fish farming practices, resulting in extra income) for local populations now involved in salt extraction and fishing, eventually also resulting in the production of improved salt (higher purity of NaCl) for possible use in human consumption (in view of present impurities locally harvested salt is now restricted to use in 3 animal farming); for the latter activity technical expertise could be requested from UNIDO similar to analogous interventions in other developing countries to improve artisanal salt production sytems.

For the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO, aquaculture developments in Africa are top priority because this is the only continent where fish consumption per person has decreased and this could have major consequences for human health in Africa. On a world-wide basis brine shrimp Artemia is playing a crucial role in aquaculture developments as it is the most suitable source of food for the early developmental stages of fish and crustaceans. Most continents have local Artemia resources and often export to other continents. So far, however, Africa has remained entirely dependent on imports from Europe or the USA and as a result this has not been beneficial for local fish hatchery developments (Artemia cysts in Uganda are priced 200 % of the cost in the international market thus severely limiting their use in local hatcheries).

At the 3-annual FAO Subcommittee of Aquaculture in Puero Varas (Chile, November 2008) the following recommendation was approved by the FAO member states: "... a number of African countries expressed the need for Artemia production as an alternative to fish meal".

3. Feasibility project work

Duration: 1 year

Project partners:  School of Agricultural Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal, Uganda (MMU) with the technical help of the Department of Zoology, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (MU)  Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium (ARC-UGent)  College of Aquaculture & Fisheries, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam (CAF-CTU)

Activities (in chronological order)

a) Identification mission by ARC staff member to MMU (10 days)

Terms of reference:  Detailed field visit to selected saltworks in W-Uganda: general assessment of sites; collection of local Artemia cyst material, if available; collection of water samples for detailed analyses of chemical and biological characteristics  Collection of locally available data on hydrology, seasonality, topography etc. of selected salt lakes  Assessment of local infrastructure and equipment in view of future Artemia work; assessment of applications and use of Artemia in local and regional aquaculture activities; final selection of 2 or 3 salt lakes for further  First theoretical and practical (basic laboratory demo’s) introduction into Artemia biology and applications for MMU staff  Introduction of MMU staff to scientific Artemia and aquaculture literature (cfr wealth of information available on the internet) – to be continued throughout project lifetime;  Selection of MMU staff for training at CAF-CTU and detailed planning of programme item b.

4 b) Training of 2 MMU staff members at CAF-CTU (1 month in dry season in S-Vietnam, i.e. January-March)

Terms of reference :  Hands-on training in Artemia field production (using local Vinh Chau strain); inoculation, population monitoring, pond management (abiotic and primary production aspects...); biomass and cyst harvesting, cyst and biomass storage and processing; quality assessment of cyst product....  Further theoretical and practical (laboratory exercises) training in Artemia biology and applications (cysts and biomass);  Detailed planning with CAF staff of programme item c. c) Laboratory and field work by MMU staff at MMU Terms of reference :  Continued collection of Artemia cyst material from local lakes, if available;  Laboratory culture tests with local Artemia cyst material (if available) and with A. franciscana (e.g. Vinh Chau, Vietnam, strain) in lake water of lakes Katwa and Bunyampaka: hatchability, growth, reproduction, general production potential as a function of abiotic parameters (temperature, salinity, ionic composition...); equipment and consumables needed for these tests and not already available at SAS (to be identified through programme item a) can be purchased by SAS during the period in between programme items a and c;  Identification and preparation of certain areas in local salt lakes/ponds allocated for inoculation of Artemia. d) Field work at L. Katwa and/or L. Bunyampaka, or other salt lake by MMU staff and CAF staff, including trainings given by CAF staff members at MMU: a. 1 CAF short-term mission to MMU for 14 days b. 1 CAF long-term mission to MMU for 3 months Terms of reference :  First pilot Artemia field production experiment (cysts and biomass) in allocated areas in L. Katwa and/or L. Bunyampaka (depending on outcome of programme items a and c);  Adaptation of techniques practiced at CAF (see programme item b) to context of salt lakes in Western Uganda; introduction of these technique to the broader MMU staff;  Further exploration of application possibilities of Artemia (cysts and biomass products) in local and regional aquaculture activities;  Timing: depending on seasonality of lakes (salinity around 150 g/l); information to be obtained through programme item a. e) Evaluation mission by ARC staff member to MMU (10 days) – at start of field work (see under d) and at end of period of field work Terms of reference :  Project follow-up, resp. round-up: finalisation with staff from CAF-CTU and MMU of field work programme, resp. compilation and evaluation of data + presentation of final report.

4. Expected outcome 5  Overview of occurrence of local and regional Artemia strains in western Uganda; ecological data on Artemia lakes;  Assessment (through laboratory tests) of performance (production potential) of local/regional Artemia strains and introduced A. franciscana in the abiotic environment of the local salt lakes in Western Uganda;  Initial assessment (through field data) of the performance (production potential) of local/regional Artemia strains and introduced A. franciscana in the abiotic, biotic, climatological and socio-economic environment of the local salt lakes in Western Uganda ;  Scientific appreciation of the feasibility of a general multi-purposed Artemia/aquaculture project in salt lakes in Western Uganda.  Drafting of project proposal “W-Uganda integrated aquaculture development project” focusing on - implementation of production of Artemia (& table salt through UNIDO project?) and harvesting/processing of Artemia at different lake sites - use of Artemia products (cysts and fresh biomass) in local fish hatchery/nursery systems (new industrial opportunity in view of local availability of cheap food sources; opportunity to develop farming of high-priced species with difficult hatchery phase such as Nile perch; national/international export of fish fry - solar drying technique for Artemia biomass processing: potential new source of high quality animal protein - in view of local availability of fish fry, stimulate the development of cage farming of different species of fish in the selected freshwater (and low salinity waters) of the many crater lakes in W-Uganda: captive market + export? -

5. Budget estimation

- from Uganda-Belgium cooperation fund ?

Activity Costs (EUR) 1) 3 missions by ARC-UGent staff to MMU 3 x 3200 (incl. flight, accommodation and subsistence, local transport, visa and insurance costs) subtotal 9 600 2) Short term (14 days) training by CTU staff 6 800 member at MMU (incl. flight, accommodation and subsistence, visa and insurance costs, local transport, consultancy fee) 3) Long-term (3 months) training by CTU staff 9 400 member at MMU (incl. flight, accommodation and subsistence, visa and insurance costs, local transport, consultancy fee) 4) Consumables - local transport costs for field visits 10 500

6 and field work fees – chemicals/products for laboratory & field tests - analytical costs TOTAL 36 300

- from local training fellowship fund ?

Activity Costs (EUR) 5) Training by 2 MMU staff members at CTU (1 2 x 3750 month each) (incl. flight, accommodation and subsistence, visa and insurance costs, bench fee, local transport) TOTAL 7 500

- from micro-intervention programme MIP ?

Activity Costs (EUR) 6) Basic equipment for installation at MMU for lab and field studies: - lab microscope - field microscope - plankton nets - water sampler - oxygen meter - pH meter - thermometers - refractometer - balance - oven - other essential equipment to be identified at the occasion of the 1st identification mission (see under a) TOTAL max 12 500

Overall total (estimated maximum): 56 300 Euro