A global shortfall in protein supply from capture fisheries has motivated the Malaysian government to revise its aquaculture strategy, focusing on three commodities: seaweed, fish and marine shrimp. However, the performance of the Malaysian aquaculture sector, particularly seaweed production, is poorly documented. This is the first empirical study to undertake a value chain analysis (VCA) of the Malaysian seaweed sector using stakeholder perceptions and secondary data that encompass members of seaweed farming cooperatives (the Semporna Area Farmers' Association and the governments' flagship Seaweed Cluster Project). Fieldwork was conducted between April and June 2015 among seaweed stakeholders involved in the value chain using a mixed methods approach-in-depth interviews with key informants, focus group discussions, household surveys, personal observation and secondary data. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from both upstream (seaweed farming, marketing structure and the Malaysian Good Aquaculture Practices [MyGAP] certification programme) and downstream (seaweed processing) activities involving farmers, intermediaries/middlemen (buyers), processors and officials. Kappaphycus spp. was sold in two forms: (1) dried seaweed to be used as raw materials in carrageenan processing (approximately 90% of total harvest) and (2) fresh seaweed to be used as a source of seedlings (approximately 10% of total harvest). The value chain ended with the carrageenan form, which is exported to international markets. The price of dried seaweed varied according to a combination of seaweed quality, the strength of farmer's relationships with intermediaries and processors and in response to demand from the carrageenan industry. The prices obtained by Malaysian farmers for dried seaweed and carrageenan remained low, US$ 0.60 and US$ 4.43 per kg, respectively, despite efforts by the government to enhance the value chain by imposing seaweed standards (via MyGAP) for farm management, dried seaweed and semi-refined carrageenan. The VCA was a useful tool to identify and map the market, with the results providing a better understanding of the seaweed sector, which could be helpful in supporting further aquaculture development in Malaysia.

Seaweed (Kappaphycus spp.) farming has been practised in Malaysia since the late 1970s following government policy incentives (training and farming inputs). However, numerous governance, economic, environmental, technological and sociocultural challenges have limited the industry from achieving its full potential. The Seaweed Cluster Project (SCP) was introduced in 2012 to address some of these challenges. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the SCP in delivering its central objectives of increasing seaweed production, optimising the farming area, improving seaweed quality and farming efficiency, raising farmers' income, and reducing the environmental impact of seaweed farming. Community and industry perceptions of the SCP were obtained from seven communities using a mixed-methods approach based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, household surveys, observation and secondary data. Views on the SCP outcomes were generally negative, including low take-up rates by indigenous people, poor stakeholder participation in decision-making, limited acceptance of new technologies, economic vulnerability, a complex marketing system, and low social cohesion of seaweed farming communities. Positive perceptions included recognition that the SCP confers high social status upon a community, reduces operating costs, and facilitates the production of certified seaweed. The SCP's problems are linked to poor multi-level governance, weak market mechanisms and unintegrated community development. The study concludes with five recommendations to improve the SCP: promote the participation of indigenous people; legalise existing migrant farmers; strengthen local seaweed cooperative organisations; provide entrepreneurship skills to farmers; and fully integrate stakeholders into decision-making.

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The inherent source of gelatin used for commercial hard capsules causes a surging demand for vegetarian capsules. In this work, carrageenan is utilized in preparing hard capsules to meet consumer preferences. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was incorporated as a reinforcing agent to improve the low mechanical properties of hard capsules made of carrageenan. The HPMC concentration was manipulated from 0.2 to 1.0 w/v% in the carrageenan matrix. The increasing concentration of HPMC exerts significant effects on the tensile strength and elongation at break, with an improvement of 59.1% and 46.9%, respectively, at the optimized HPMC concentration of 0.8 w/v%. The loop strength of the capsule is also increased by 56.4% with decreasing moisture content. The downfield movement from around 3.20 ppm of the carrageenan proton to 3.33 ppm in the proton nuclear magnetic resonanance ( 1H‐NMR) spectrum suggests the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between carrageenan and HPMC, which correlates to the results of Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and zeta potential. The glass transition temperature of the film was increased from 37.8 to 65.3°C, showing an upgrade in thermal stability. The film possesses a major mass loss with an activation energy of 64.7 kJ/mol with an increment of 43.4% compared to the control carrageenan. These findings support the conclusion that HPMC enhanced the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the carrageenan film, and the comprehensive analysis of the molecular interaction and decomposition kinetics subsequently may expand the application fields of the carrageenan‐HPMC hard capsule as an alternative to gelatin in the future.