Sea going worms have always been a bane of sailors. They bore into wooden vessels and eat them. Now the tables may be turning, at least in the United Kingdom. That is if university researchers can sell people on the idea of eating them. If sailors take revenge in the United Kingdom, can we be far behind?
The researchers are seeking to convince people to harvest and eat the worms as a cheap source of renewable protein.
According to The Independent teredo worms (Family Teredinadae) are found worldwide. They eat wood submerged in water. Teredo navalis is the species in question and it translates to naval worm.
The Sunday Times suggests they taste something like clams .Enthusiastic proponents think worm farming can help protect overfished species like cod. Sailors take revenge indeed.
According to Britannica:
The most economically important shipworms, i.e., those causing the most damage, are members of the genus Teredo, which includes about 15 species. Other genera are Bankia, Xylotrya, and Xylophaga. Teredo norvegica, of the coasts of Europe, has a tube about 30 cm (1 foot) long. The common shipworm, T. navalis (20 to 45 cm [8 to 18 inches] long), has a worldwide distribution but is especially destructive on the Baltic Sea coast.
Only a small part of the anterior end of the shipworm is covered by a shell; the remainder is a long tubelike structure that, in some species, may be 180 cm (6 feet) long. The white shell, often marked with closely set lines, is used for burrowing into wood. File-like ridges on the shell cut into the wood at a rate of about 8 to 12 rasping motions a minute. Shipworms secrete lime to line the inside of the burrow. The tubelike portion of the animal, which extends back to the burrow opening, ingests food particles and oxygen from the water and discharges wastes and reproductive cells. A certain amount of wood is also ingested as food by most species.” (Links in original).
If sailors take revenge on worms, other pests can follow. Other pests are now entering the human food chain. Feral hogs and destructive eels. among them. Asian swamp eels are an invasive pest that is plaguing Florida. The eels are already eaten in Asia. Many were probably released from restaurants in Florida, Now it is hoped they will have a wider dining audience. Feral hogs are, of course, pork on the hoof. Wild pork dishes are becoming more common, too.
We have written extensively about invasive species. Adaptation to their arrival includes developing predation techniques. Even if we have to do it outselves.