Aquabait Pty Ltd has been developed to provide a unique fishing bait direct to the fisherman from our intensive aquaculture facility situated on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. Aquabait is involved with the research and development of marine worm cultivation for the fishing bait market.

Aquabait was established in 1996 and until today has been developing its own technology within a controlled laboratory environment in conjunction with the best marine polychaete (segmented marine worms) scientists in Australia to provide a sustainable product, baitworms! Aquabait has achieved successful grow-out and is now entering its commercial stage.

Aquabait brings you its farmed marine worms from the Lake Macquarie system on the central coast of NSW. We are currently cultivating a close relative to the beachworm, commonly known as the tube-worm or case-worm. This species belongs to the family Onuphidae, which is known broadly as the beachworm family.

Our worm has the capacity to grow up to 1 metre in length in the wild, although we grow them to a suitable size for threading onto a hook, 20-30cm in length and 5-8 mm width. Aquabait has taken a scientific approach to marine worm aquaculture and is constantly developing new techniques for the best quality bait. We are concentrating on providing a product that can last much longer from the date of purchase by preserving the marine worms in our specially developed non-toxic solution. This allows our marine worms to be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. This can be very beneficial for the fisherman as bait can be accessed quickly, and quality is guaranteed.

For the last fifteen years, Aquabait has been farming marine worms (Diopatra aciculata, polychaetes, tube worms) and selling them to recreational fishermen and shrimp maturation facilities. Polychaetes have high levels of essential fatty acids, particularly the polyunsaturated fatty acids that are believed to be an important dietary requirement for penaeid shrimp reproduction and development. These fatty acids cannot be synthesized by shrimp; they must be included in their diets. For the 2006/2007 production year, Aquabait expects to have 6,000 kilos of quick frozen worms available for export.