Different destinies

At the table of the restaurant where I had lunch today there was a jar with Marimo, the green algae that grows in some lakes in Japan and has inspired myths and legends, symbolizes love, affection and good luck and people travel long way to see it and participate in annual Marimo festival. Incidentally the same algae grows in lake Myvatn in the north of Iceland, where it is called kúluskitur (a ball of shit would be the direct translation) as it was a nuisance for the farmers that fished in the lake. Same organism, two totally different destinies!
Today it is a protected species in both countries.