Bayraklı, Izmir, Turkey-headquartered Lucky Fish Co. is the world’s first company eligible to offer four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream. The announcement was made on April 24 at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, as Mike Berthet, BAP market development manager for Europe, presented Lucky Fish CEO Ismail Aksoy with BAP certificates.
Recently earning BAP certification were Lucky Fish’s processing plant in Didim, Turkey; two farms in Muğla Kazıklı Bay, located near Didim; its hatchery in Milas, Turkey, and its feed mill, also in Didim. All four sets of facilities pursued BAP certification at the same time, all for the first time.
“We are very proud to become the first Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream producer to have four-star BAP certification. This will enable us to meet market demand in Europe, North America and China,” said Aksoy.
The company’s hatchery, nursery and fish farms have also been certified according to Whole Foods Market standards.
Lucky Fish (known in Turkey as Ugurlu Balik) was established by the Kopuzmar family in 1986. In 2013, the private equity firm Mediterra Capital acquired a 100% stake in the business. Currently, the fully integrated company offers a range of Mediterranean sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) products, including frozen and non-frozen whole and gutted fish, fillets and ready-to-cook items featuring Mediterranean species. Lucky Fish supplies its products to wholesalers, retailers and foodservice operators worldwide.
“This marks a new milestone in BAP certification in Europe and demonstrates yet again the high regard in the marketplace for the BAP standards. We are absolutely delighted that Lucky Fish has chosen BAP to represent its commitment to responsibly produced aquaculture products for a global market,” said Berthet.
In March, the BAP program reached a milestone, surpassing more than 2,000 certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills in 33 countries and six continents.
About BAP
A division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based and continuously improved performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain – farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills – that assure healthful foods produced through environmentally and socially responsible means. BAP certification is based on independent audits that evaluate compliance with the BAP standards owned by the Global Aquaculture Alliance.
