| Popis: |
New Zealand’s agar industry, based on indigenous Pterocladia lucida, has been described by Moore (1944), Kirby (1953), and Chapman (1970). However, there is little information on the harvest, and more recent literature contains exaggerated estimates of agar production. For the ten years prior to 1978 the average Pterocladia harvest was 109 tonnes per year, and during the same period agar production declined to under 20 tonnes per year. The industry was recently revived by the entry of a new company, Coast Biologicals Ltd, which began processing in 1979. |
