Algarvian worms

The idea of breeding worms is an old one. It came about as a result of recreational fishing – a passion shared by João Guerra, 29 and Frederico Oliveira, 30 – both marine biologists and graduates of the University of the Algarve.

When they added up what they were spending on live bait (read: worms), they realized that they could probably turn their pastime into a money-spinning business.

“Currently, in a specialist shop, there are worms that’ll cost the consumer anything between €40 and €150 a kilo”, João Guerra explains.

He adds that the traditional method of grubbing for worms in their natural habitats doesn’t bring in enough to satisfy the needs of the growing market. It’s a market “with a lot of potential – the relation between supply and demand is still favourable.”

“But it’s an activity which is dependent on many factors, and isn’t easy. You need a lot of hours to catch a kilo of worms. Equally, there are a lot of places where they simply don’t exist anymore, due to the pollution of ecosystems, for example.”

The first contact Guerra had with this type of bio-technology was at the end of his course, in 2004. He was involved in an on-the-job training programme with teacher Luís Fonseca at IPIMAR in Tavira. The programme’s theme was “farming fish-bait”. “That was when I saw that this was, in fact, possible.”

Later, in 2005, the two entrepreneurial fishermen joined up with François Hubert, 32, who had come to the Algarve to finish his post-graduate studies in Marine Ecology and work on a research programme as a technician on a fish farm.

“I began to see the potential in worms – and that there was a way to reproduce them using classic fish-farming technology, with a few little adjustments”, Hubert takes up the story.

The trio’s ideas began taking shape from 2006. IAPMEI (the institute for small and medium-sized businesses) financed the team’s initial business plan. At the same time, they applied for help from the Government’s «Neotec» initiative – and were financed to the tune of 70 thousand euros from “fundo perdido” (money that doesn’t require paying back).

The business partners also asked for a micro-credit – with a small share of money coming from their own personal investment. In other words, since 2007, they’ve invested more than 100 thousand euros – and still haven’t made a cent.

Their initial plan is to produce the ragworm (nereis diversicolor). “It’s the most common type…the marine equivalent of the worm that grows on manure”, smiles Hubert.

The production process consists of completely controlling the lifecycle of these organisms. Everything begins at the business’ premises in Loulé – where the maternity ward is located. Here, they are hoping to produce around 10 to 12 million young worms (aged between two to three months) every year.

The worm-farm structure and equipment were all designed and made by the young entrepreneurs. A 7.000 litre tank of seawater feeds a circuit of 56 homemade tanks, mounted on various floors. Inside each one there’s sand from the Ria Formosa and salt water.

“The idea’s the same as for producing fish. Each tank has between 150 and 200 adult worms – and up to 100.000 young worms per square metre. The advantage of farming worms is that they are very resistant – whether you’re talking of lack of oxygen or high concentrations of ammonia”, François Hubert explains.

The second phase of production is carried out in Alvor. The trio has rented space on a licensed, working fish-farm where their young worms will spend five months fattening-up. The plan is to produce adults weighing between 1 and 2 grams – the perfect size for a winning hook. The first batch will be ready in the summer.

And they guarantee that worms are environmentally friendly. They actually require less food per square metre than is used for the production of traditional fish. “In Nature, these worms feed off everything – from phytoplankton to organic waste material and micro-organisms that grow in the sand.”

Five tons of worms a year – the quantity that this company hopes to produce – could be worth around 50 thousand euros. “When we’re up and running, we want to have a turnover of 200 thousand euros per year”, Guerra tells.

“Our long-term objective is to increase and diversify production. In the future, we want to produce the tubeworm (Doipatra neapolitana). It’s more than likely that once we’ve got into our stride - in a few years time, in other words - it won’t make sense to stay in the Algarve”, Hubert laments.

Why? Because of lack of space to develop this innovative industry. “We’re looking for land on the Ria Formosa. In theory, there’s a lot that should be public domain – but in practice, it’s not well marked out. The few people who own land there want to sell it for construction and are asking for ridiculous prices. For example, for ten hectares, we’ve been asked for 1 million 250 thousand euros!”

“We’ve thought of going maybe to Setúbal or Aveiro – where land is much more reasonably priced. Or maybe even to Southern Spain.”