When thinking about what types of products make up a billion dollar industry, worms are probably pretty far down on the list as far as potential guesses go. In reality, marine worms are right at the top of the list as far as marine related offerings go. At an industry value of $7.5 billion, marine worms ware worth more than three times the annual revenue the U.S. sushi industry brings in.
This insane value is even more crazy to consider because it only includes various types of marine worms in the ocean and not freshwater worms or other bait, such as fish.
These worms are worth so much, in fact, that the bloodworm, which is popular for catching striped bass, is worth $80 per pound. That’s almost four times the price of lobster. Other commonly used worms are ragworms, lugworms and sandworms.
The reason these worms cost so much is because of the time and effort it takes to collect them. Regardless of how hard they are to find, they’re necessary in order to catch many types of fish that anglers go after.
The estimate for the $7.5 billion value was the result of surveying multiple beaches around the world, seeing how often people dug worms up. Fishermen were then questioned about the number of worms they used. After they knew that, they used the number of fishermen worldwide and the amount of time they’re at sea to figure out what the industry was worth.
The study was conducted with the purpose of looking into an industry that has received very little attention and isn’t regulated. It turns out that digging for bait worms can destroy beaches and pollute the water.
Regulations similar to regulations on fishing are needed for finding these worms, the study found. That will involve putting limits on digging areas and the quantities removed, which could further drive up the price per pound.
