The CEO of Turkish seafood company Murfish recently launched an additional company with the aim of broadening the seafood options available in Turkey.
Muradiye Kiyak recently founded Kiyak Su Urunleri, a Turkish importing business that focuses on purchasing seafood both domestically and abroad, aiming to ensure the country benefits from the diverse array of domestic and global seafood.
“For Kiyak Su Urunleri, I buy from all parts of Turkey,” Kiyak told SeafoodSource at the 2024 Seafood Expo Global, which takes place 23 to 25 April in Barcelona, Spain. “We [also] sell for Russia, Georgia, Japan, China, and Vietnam.”
Murfish, meanwhile, which Kiyak founded in 2021 and which has both wild-caught and aquaculture operations in the Black Sea, is headquartered in Samsun, Turkey. On the aquaculture side specifically, the business grows approximately 2,000 metric tons of sea bass, sea bream, salmon, and trout in near-shore net pens annually.
Unusually for a company of its size, Kiyak explained, Murfish is vertically integrated, with a fishmeal and fish oil production plant, sales and distribution arms, and a local market and restaurant.
The two companies aim to launch mutually beneficial initiatives, such as Kiyak Su Urunleri's promotion of Turkish salmon from the Black Sea, which Murfish supplies and which Kiyak said is “lighter” and highly sustainable. Kiyak also emphasized the value of Turkish salmon as being more “unique” in both its darker appearance and taste [compared to Norwegian salmon], making it a stronger appeal to an international market.
“We use our sustainability as an advantage. Other companies are buying feed from other places, but we are producing our feed, own flour, and meal. We know what we are giving to the fish,” Kiyak said.
Kiyak said she is attending the 2024 edition of Seafood Expo Global to consult with importers from around the world to seek potential partnerships in her new venture.
Though she now has launched two companies, until 2021, Kiyak had no involvement in the seafood industry. She received a master’s degree in English language and literature in 2011, worked as a professor at Ondokuz Mayis University in Samsun for two years, and received a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of Kent in the U.K.
“I don't like the word impossible,” Kiyak said.
In a short time, Murfish has reached annual sales of approximately USD 3 million (EUR 2.8 million) to USD 5 million (EUR 4.6 million).
