Due to the local Cuban conditions, as the human resources and the field situation most of our advices are oriented to be cheap, with no or little investments, fast to put in operation, because of the already well known technologies they belong to.
Lots of good and basic conditions are present here in FRANK PAIS. The different water salinities of the salt flats, and the climate are all suitable for Artemia production.
Three major points have been looked into during this mission.
The production of cysts and biomass which are both dependent of the predator, the papalote.
The extensive production of the cysts is hard to control. The best way to enhance the quantity harvested will be to increase the pond surface dedicated to Artemia, but we are restrained by the predator, the papalote, still in most of the ponds.
Our involvement can be aimed on the field (and so with a little expense), by following closely the meteorological factors, the water movements and by reacting in respect of their variations to harvest as many cysts, as soon as possible.
Cyst harvesting is understood here as fishing. As fishermen live with the sea, harvesters must live very close of their environment, to learn and feel it constantly.
So we tried to do during our stay, and we reached more than 15 Kgr in less than a week.
One of the solution to increase the production in the salt ponds is to control the papalote and the flow of the water, by derivation on the north or the south side channel, without interfering with the salt production.
If the production increased above a kilo a day, it is necessary to put in routine the cleaning process we optimized for the local conditions, (5 Kgr = 1 hour = 1 person)
The biomass production either in semi intensive Frank Pais 1 ponds, or in intensive way Frank Pais 2 ponds, are both depending on shrimp farming technologies, aquaculture as it is well practiced in other areas of Cuba.
The brine shrimp biomass production, as other shrimp farming, is dependent of the zoo technique and the feed control.
The technical aspect is already well in practice in Cuba in order to farm the P. schmitti. The pond management and all its routine for water checks are the basics of shrimp farming must be applied to the Artemia ponds.
The feed (algæ) production techniques are well known too, algæ blooms are based on pond fertilization. This varies depending of the location:
In Frank Pais 1 the blooms are set in the ponds and parallel algæ production is there to help the start ups. The water is wasted so it is possible (as strong fertilizers) to use fish soluble.
In Frank Pais 2 the algæ blooms are set aside of the biomass production and the Artemia culture density is raised to the highest level, as in large (many tons) hatchery tanks. The Artemia are here to epurate the water, which has to go back in the salt flats main stream production, cleaned of algae and fertilizers.
If it is hard to conceive the total eradication of the papalote, but its control can be looked into. by a better knowledge of the biology of the papalote and its life in salt flat conditions,
by the set up of screens in order to avoid its constant reseeding and
disastrous predatoriness influence,
by the “Maguey” only after a complete study of its activity,
by a combination of the two possibilities, if necessary.
