Yosef Ali Asadpour - Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute , National Artemia Research Center , Agricultural Research , Education and Extension Organization , Urmia, Iran
Masoud Seidgar - Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute , National Artemia Research Center , Agricultural Research , Education and Extension Organization , Urmia, Iran
Fereidun Mohebbi - Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute , National Artemia Research Center , Agricultural Research , Education and Extension Organization , Urmia, Iran

Objective: Artemia culture is a main activity in the production of protein for aquaculture by salty or brackish drainage water that cannot be used in agriculture,natural resources, drinking and industry. Native Artemia can be cultured in Countries with salt water resources and suitable climatic condition. Methods: twospecies of native brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica and Artemia franciscana were cultured according to standard methods on 6 ponds with an area of 3 ha atQom province, Iran for a period of 180 days. Results: The results revealed that native species enjoy a better cyst,nauplii and biomass production than importedspecies as 300 and 265 kg cysts per ha were produced from Qom native speciesand imported A. franciscana , respectively. Also, 4000 and 3200 kg biomass washarvested from native and imported species, respectively. Conclusion: It may be concluded that culture of native species growing in natural environments can preserve genetic resources in each area and prevent of the entering of invasive species. By Artemia culture in salty ponds, especially in countries encountered with water shortage and drought such as Iran, it can be considered as an alternative culture in sustainable agriculture developments of these countries.

Artemia, development, Qom, Iran, salty ponds