Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
In the early 1950s, Ogden resident Cleon Sanders started collecting adult brine shrimp to use as fish food in his tropical fish hatchery. Later, he discovered brine shrimp eggs could be processed so they could be easily shipped to commercial fish and shrimp hatcheries around the world. This led to the creation of the brine shrimp industry in Utah.
In the late 1990s, the industry grew and competition for brine shrimp eggs on the Great Salt Lake became fierce, escalating the costs of harvesting and producing the product. At the same time, foreign competitors stepped forward with significantly lower production costs to capture a growing part of the market. In order to survive, the local industry needed to reorganize. In 2006, most of the industry came together to form the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative.
Don Leonard, cooperative president, says the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative is an affiliation of companies working together to protect the brine shrimp resource and to sell against competitive foreign products. The cooperative harvests, processes, packages, markets and exports brine shrimp eggs. However, only the excess brine shrimp eggs are harvested, which not only protects the resource but also provides a better end product.
One of the most interesting things about the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative is that there is no significant local market for its products. This means sales must take place overseas. Don says the cooperative's products are currently used in 55 countries around the world, the largest market of which is in Asia.
The Great Salt Lake is the only significant source in the United States of an important dietary feed for the aquaculture industry. Don hopes to see the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative continue to reclaim some of the market share that has slowly eroded to foreign competitors as well as build stability for its members and customers.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
