SEAWEED as a food material and research object drew public attention in the country only at the end of the 1980s. Previously, this product was inferior to shrimps, then a major commodity in Indonesia's fishery sector. Understandably, the shrimp price on the export market was high and the government lavishly provided facilities for shrimp entrepreneurs.

"The government didn't even cast an eye over seaweed," said Jana Anggadiredja. Along with his peers