A Lovely Adventure

OUR STORY

2014

BEGINNING

The beginning

it was in 2014 that Marwen Mokdad and Ahmed Malek, two biological engineers, initiated research into the biology of marine worms in order to understand their complete life cycle

2016

SUCCESS

The first success

in 2016, after two years of observation and Understanding, the two entrepreneurs carried out their first artificial production of Perinereis Cultifera larvae on a laboratory scale.

2020

EXTENSION

Extension

in 2020, first scale-up; a semi-pilot phase is initiated in a 50m2 garage and the production of the 1st Kilogram of worms is successfully achieved. During this phase, the use of artifical in-vitro fertilization was successfully initiated.

2021

READY

Scale-up

in 2021, semi-industrial phase is launched and extended on 350m2 for the reproduction and fattening of larvae. The unit includes a laboratory where several production optimization researches are launched. The final goal is to have 3 production cycles per year when in their natural environment the worms reproduce once a year.

2022

RESILIENCE

Climate resilient process

Climate changes are one of the major problem that every farming is facing. In 2022 we lost 80% of our production due to early hot wave, and since then, we optimized our process of production to be climate resilient, now we are able to produce Perinereis cultrifera marine worm in any climate specification, this specie is temperate and can tolerate temperature from 4°C to 35°C.

2024

CHANGE

A Necessary Change

In 2024, rising Mediterranean temperatures gradually made the Bizerte Lagoon less suitable for farming our species. We therefore decided to completely rethink our production process.

2025

NEW

A New Generation of Farming

In 2025, we developed a RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System), a closed production system that provides full control over farming conditions. A new pilot unit was established in southern France, and POLYCHAETA expanded its activities into premium feed and bioremediation through collaborations with research institutions.

2026

VALIDATION

Validation and Future Outlook

In 2026, our RAS production process was successfully validated, paving the way for a 5,000 m² industrial project on the French Atlantic coast. At the same time, our first results confirmed the potential of marine worms for premium feed and bioremediation applications.