Mediterranean Sea Bass, Sea Bream Producer First to be Four-Star BAP

The Global Aquaculture Alliance is pleased to announce that Luckyfish Co. of Turkey is the world’s first company eligible to offer four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream.

The announcement came on Day 1 of Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, as Mike Berthet, BAP market development manager for Europe, presented Luckyfish CEO Ismail Aksoy with the company’s BAP certificates.

Recently earning BAP certification were Luckyfish’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 as well as supporting our high standards in social welfare, environment and food safety, which are all hallmarks of the Luckyfish brand,” said Aksoy.

Luckyfish (known locally as Ugurlu Balik) was established by the Kopuzmar family in 1986. In 2013, the private equity firm Mediterra Capital acquired a 100 percent stake in Lucky Fish. Currently, the fully integrated company offers a range of Mediterranean sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) products, including fresh fish, frozen fish, whole and gutted fish, fillets and ready-to-cook items featuring Mediterranean species. Luckyfish 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 Luckyfish has chosen BAP to represent its commitment to responsibly produced aquaculture products for a global market,” said Berthet.

Last month, the BAP program hit 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.