SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Mar. 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Amaze your friends: Can you name Utah’s official state crustacean?
The correct answer: the brine shrimp.
“Hey everyone, let’s put our hands together for the brine shrimp!” the state Division of Wildlife Resources said in a Monday night news release. “It has officially joined the ranks of Utah’s state symbols as the state crustacean.
Tiny crustaceans that inhabit salty waters around the world, both inland and on the coast, brine shrimp range in size from ⅓ of an inch to a ½ inch. “These shrimp are much smaller than the ones you eat,” said the DWR.
“In Utah, they are only found in the Great Salt Lake. These tiny animals play a huge role in the lake’s ecosystem, so we are thrilled that they’re receiving the honor of being named state crustacean.”
Learn more about this cool aquatic critter and the role it plays in its environment by clicking here.
Gov. Spencer Cox signed H.B. 137 on March 17, formally designating the brine shrimp as the state crustacean.
And Utah’s brine shrimp have a global reputation.
“The commercial brine shrimp fishery at the Great Salt Lake supplies over 40% of the worldwide demand for brine shrimp,” the DWR said.
The Great Salt Lake and its associated wetlands provide an invaluable food source to around 10 million migratory birds, including about 330 different species. A variety of these birds feed on the brine shrimp in the Great Salt Lake, either exclusively or opportunistically, to fuel their long migrations.
Eared grebes, in particular, molt while they are migrating through Utah in the fall, which means they are flightless and completely dependent on the brine shrimp in the Great Salt Lake for food. They will eat between 25,000 to 30,000 brine shrimp a day.
The brine shrimp play another important role in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem by eating the algae in the lake. The adult shrimp typically freeze and die each December, while the cysts (eggs) will survive and hatch in March.
