Brine shrimp cyst harvest on the Great Salt Lake: state-stated industry value, permits and the 2026 royalty
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Utah licenses 21 companies to harvest brine shrimp cysts on the Great Salt Lake; the state's wildlife division values the industry at US$10 million to US$60 million, depending on the quality and quantity harvested. A 2026 bill raises the per-pound royalty from 3.25 cents to 3.75 cents.
"depending on the quality and quantity of brine shrimp cysts harvested"; the page gives no year.
- 21 licensed harvesting companies — Harvest cysts in the north and south arms; 40,628,672 pounds cumulative in 2025-26 to 4 February 2026 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- State of Utah — Royalty of 3.25 cents per pound, rising to 3.75 cents per pound for tax years from 1 February 2026 under the HB 247 text Utah State Legislature (copy hosted by Santa Clara, Utah legislative text service)
- Brine shrimp population — Production declines along a continuum from 75 to 225 g/l salinity (Wurtsbaugh et al.) Nature Geoscience
What happened
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) states that the brine shrimp cyst harvest industry "has been valued at $10 to $60 million, depending on the quality and quantity of brine shrimp cysts harvested", that 21 companies harvest in the lake's north and south arms in 2026 and that "Seventy-nine Certificates of Registration are available to purchase each year". Harvest is set under Administrative Rule R657-52, with an estimated minimum of 21 cysts per litre to remain at the end of each season. DWR lists cumulative harvest of 30,020,744 pounds in 2024-25 (to 29 January 2025), 40,628,672 pounds in 2025-26 (to 4 February 2026) and 4,403,016 pounds in 2026-27 (to 21 October 2026).
The text of HB 247 (5th substitute, 4 March 2026; enrolled version not opened) sets the brine shrimp royalty at 3.25 cents per pound of unprocessed eggs for tax years ending on or before 31 January 2026 and 3.75 cents for tax years beginning on or after 1 February 2026. The first $125,000 a year goes to the Sovereign Lands Management Account; from 1 July 2028 the remainder goes there too, to be used to lease water rights for the lake or fund projects that benefit the brine shrimp population.
Wurtsbaugh et al. (2017) write that brine shrimp production declines along a continuum from 75 to 225 g/l salinity. The Strike Team's 2025 summary reported brine shrimp egg numbers up about 50% in 2024 from the prior year, and a Salt Lake Tribune article reported salinity of around 12% in January 2026 against about 16% at the January 2022 elevation.
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- The Strike Team 2025 summary reported brine shrimp egg numbers up about 50% in 2024 from the prior year.
- Salinity was around 12% in January 2026 against about 16% at the January 2022 elevation (Bonnie Baxter, Westminster University, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune).
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record None on record in the sources reviewed: the year or method behind DWR's US$10 million to US$60 million valuation.
- None on record None on record in the sources reviewed: royalty paid by harvesters in any year, or revenue per company.
- None on record None on record in the sources reviewed: the enrolled text of HB 247; the royalty rate is from the 5th substitute.
- None on record None on record in the sources reviewed: a measurement of the effect of the harvest on the brine shrimp population; DWR states the harvest is regulated to leave enough cysts to repopulate the lake each spring.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Government and regulators
- Brine shrimp harvest (Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program)Utah Division of Wildlife Resources · 2026-10-21
- Great Salt Lake Related Amendments, 5th Sub. H.B. 247, 2026 General Session (text dated 4 March 2026; enrolled version not opened)Utah State Legislature (copy hosted by Santa Clara, Utah legislative text service) · 2026-03-04
Press and investigations
- The Great Salt Lake begins the new year teetering near record lows (Leia Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune)Utah Public Radio (Salt Lake Tribune) · 2026-01-07
Researchers
- Great Salt Lake Strike Team update (2025 data and insights summary)Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, University of Utah · 2025-02-03
Connected cases
- Mineral extraction on the Great Salt Lake: royalties, severance tax, the 2024 audit and Compass Minerals' voluntary agreement United States · 1960–2026 Related matter
- Utah State Legislature (Government) — here: Set the royalty rate in HB 247 (2026); there: Passed HB 453 (2024) and HB 247 (2026)
- Great Salt Lake, Utah: record-low level on 7 November 2022 and the attribution of the decline United States · 1847–2026
- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (Public authority) — here: Regulates the cyst harvest and publishes harvest totals and the industry value; there: Publishes lake levels and areas and the estimate that the lake is 11 feet lower due to human diversions
- Utah transfers 22,311 acres at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to the federal government for US$60 million United States · 2026
- Utah State Legislature (Government) — here: Set the royalty rate in HB 247 (2026); there: Approved the settlement by resolution HJR30
- Utah's spending in the Great Salt Lake's name since 2022: water trust, appropriations, leases and donated water rights United States · 2022–2026
- Utah State Legislature (Government) — here: Set the royalty rate in HB 247 (2026); there: Authorised the US$40 million trust (HB 410, 2022) and later appropriations