In early August, US regulators flagged traces of radioactive material on the exterior of a factory in Banten operated by BMS Food, one of Indonesia’s largest seafood processors. However, shrimp farmers argue the contamination did not come from shrimp or farms at all – they point out that tests carried out by Indonesia’s nuclear agency (BAPETEN) and fisheries ministry showed no trace of radiation in shrimp ponds, feed, water, or hatcheries. The most frustrating part for many of the nation’s farmers is that the US export ban has been applied to all BMS facilities, including those 3,000–4,000 kilometres away from the contaminated site. Farmers say this blanket action is devastating small-scale producers in Sumatra and Aceh who rely on BMS’s Medan plant – the only processor within their reach. With their sole buyer shut down, farmers face grim choices: sell shrimp domestically at a 50–70 percent discount; truck them overland for a week to distant processors – thereby losing the quality of their shrimp; or destroy their harvest entirely.