Dr. Ali Nekouei Fard considered the Lake Urmia as a rich source of Artemia and said: With the increase in the water level in the Lake Urmia in recent years, the number of Artemia in this lake has also increased significantly, so that its amount is between 43 to 540 Artemia cysts per liter in different sampling areas of the lake. He said that in order to evaluate the Artemia resources of the Lake Urmia, which is carried out by the Iranian Artemia Research Center affiliated to the Iranian Fisheries Science and Research Institute, seven sampling stations have been determined and sampling and analysis of chemical and physical characteristics are performed monthly. He added: The amount of Artemia per liter of water in Lake Urmia last year was 5 to 12, while this year the amount of Artemia is several times higher. The head of the Iranian Artemia Research Center emphasized that the increase in the amount of Artemia in Lake Urmia in 2020 occurred despite the increase in its salinity. He added: Although the salinity of the lake has reached 378 grams per liter and has almost doubled compared to the last year, but due to the increase in the water level of the lake, the size of the lake and high spawning, the number of this organism has increased. He continued: Artemia can produce the live baby brine shrimp (or nauplii) in the appropriate conditions, but if the salinity of the water increases, the organism inside the uterus will turn the live baby brine shrimp into the brine shrimp egg to be more stable in adverse lake conditions. The official of the Iranian Artemia Research Center referred to Dunaliella salina as the feed needed for Artemia and mentioned: The amount of Dunaliella salina in Lake Urmia is now appropriate and reaches 28 to 48 thousand algae per liter. If only 10 % of Artemia resources in Lake Urmia are harvested, the need for imports will reach zero. Dr. Nekouei Fard referred to the latest studies on Artemia in Lake Urmia and said: Harvesting only 10 % of Artemia resources in Lake Urmia legally and in accordance with environmental regulations and based on research and evaluation of its resources due to the existence of technical knowledge of processing and the equipment required at the research center, reduces the need to import this strategic product to zero. He stated that harvesting Artemia resources from Lake Urmia requires the observance of research - oriented principles under the supervision of the competent authorities. He added: Lake Urmia can also be a source for exporting Artemia to other countries. The official of the Iranian Artemia Research Center stated: The price of Artemia is between 50 and 100 dollars per kilogram. He continued: Exploitation of Artemia resources from Lake Urmia can save the West Azerbaijan in the development of aquaculture from the need for government funding. 99 % of the required Artemia cysts in the country are supplied by imports. The head of the Iranian Artemia Research Center noted that 99 % of the required Artemia cysts in the country are supplied by imports. He said: According to the statistics provided by the Iran Fisheries Organization, the need of the country for Artemia cysts was more than 60 tons last year, a significant amount of which was provided through unofficial sources. Referring to the official statistics provided by the Iran Fisheries Organization, he said: According to this report, more than 43,000 tons of shrimp were produced in the country in 2019 - 2020 and for this amount of production, 60 % of the amount of Artemia imported to the country was used to feed this amount of shrimp. Dr. Nekouei Fard continued: According to the plans to increase shrimp production in the country, the need of the country for Artemia this year will be more than 70 tons. The head of the Iranian Artemia Research Center emphasized that with the import of living organisms, there is always the challenge of pathogens entering the country. He stated: Because Artemia is one of the main feeds for shrimp produced in the country, it is possible that some enemies may try to contaminate Artemia and smuggle it into the country in order to hit the country's aquaculture economy. He added: Since there is no oversight by the competent authorities on the health of Artemia that is smuggled into the country and used, it is possible that the role of bioterrorism in this industry may increase in this critical period. According to this report, Artemia is a genus of aquatic crustaceans that lives in saline water. Lake Urmia is one of the richest resources of Artemia in the world. It is worth mentioning that the area of this lake in Azerbaijan province has reached 3,622 square kilometers and the water level of this lake has reached 1,271 meters and 65 centimeters which is a good situation compared to previous years.