Supplier
Craig Lukey
Sou'East Seafood - Line CaughtBlue MackerelUlladulla, South Coast, NSW
35.351501° S, 150.492442° E
"We're some of the last hunters left. The ocean decides what's possible—we're just lucky enough to earn a living respecting it."⎯ Craig Lukey, Sou'East Seafood
One Man. One Rod. One Reel. One Fish That Changed Everything.
Some of the greatest food stories don't begin with luxury.
They begin with something everyone else overlooked.
For decades, Blue Mackerel carried the wrong reputation in Australia. Most people knew it as bait. Something to catch something better. Something destined for a tin.
Craig Lukey saw something different.
Stationed in Ulladulla on the New South Wales South Coast, Craig has spent his life on the water. While many commercial operators pursue volume, Craig pursues perfection.
One fish.
One hook.
One decision at a time.
Respect Starts Before the Catch.
Every Blue Mackerel is caught individually using nothing more than a rod and reel. No large purse seines. No hauling tonnes of fish across the deck. Just patience, instinct and a deep understanding of one of Australia's most abundant wild species.
Today, Craig's Blue Mackerel appears on the menus of some of Australia's most respected restaurants, including Saint Peter, where chef Josh Niland transformed a species once dismissed as bait into one of the country's most talked-about dishes.
That's what happens when extraordinary producers meet extraordinary chefs.
People often ask what makes Craig's fish different.
The answer isn't one thing.
It's hundreds of tiny decisions.
Finding Blue Mackerel isn't as simple as driving to a GPS mark.
Currents shift.
Moon phases change.
Water temperatures move bait schools overnight.
Every morning starts with reading the ocean.
Because Blue Mackerel are constantly moving.
They're one of the ocean's true pelagic wanderers, always swimming, always hunted.
Everything in the sea wants to eat them.
That constant movement builds beautiful flesh rich in natural oils and Omega-3, making Blue Mackerel one of Australia's most nutritious and underrated eating fish.
It's slower.Harder.Less profitable.But the quality speaks for itself.
Less Handling. Better Seafood.
The moment a fish comes over Craig's gunwale, the work has only just begun.
For years he experimented with dispatch techniques, working closely with chefs to understand exactly how the fish performed in the kitchen.
Many premium fish benefit from bleeding, Ike Jime or nerve destruction.
Blue Mackerel are different.
They're delicate.
Tiny scales.
Soft flesh.
Handle them too much and you've already compromised the product.
Craig developed a process that leaves the fish almost untouched.
Each fish is placed immediately into a carefully controlled saltwater ice slurry. The temperature is precise. Cold enough to quickly lower the fish's metabolism, but not so cold that it damages the colour or texture.
No bruising.
No rough handling.
No unnecessary processing.
The result is remarkable.
A fish that arrives looking as though it has just left the ocean.
That's exactly what chefs want.
Changing the Story of Australian Seafood.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Craig's story isn't how he catches fish.
It's how he changed the conversation around one species.
Across much of the world, oily fish like sardines, anchovies and mackerel are celebrated.
In Australia, we've often overlooked them.
Yet Blue Mackerel are abundant, fast-growing and naturally resilient. Choosing species like these eases pressure on more heavily targeted fish while giving chefs access to exceptional flavour at outstanding value.
Sometimes sustainability isn't about eating less seafood.
It's about eating smarter seafood.
Craig understood that long before the rest of us.
Why Astakos Works with Craig.
At Astakos, we're drawn to people who challenge convention.
Craig never set out to create a trend.
He simply believed Blue Mackerel deserved better.
That belief now reaches kitchens across Australia because chefs trust the quality, the consistency and the story behind every fish.
Like Craig, we believe transparency matters.
We believe relationships matter.
And we believe chefs deserve more than a delivery docket.
They deserve to know who caught their fish.
How it was handled.
Why it tastes the way it does.
When Craig's Blue Mackerel arrives at Astakos, we're not simply buying seafood.
We're carrying forward the reputation of a fisherman who's spent years proving that respect—not prestige—is what creates extraordinary produce.
"The New Hero of Australian Seafood"⎯ Michael Messiou, Astakos Seafood
Line-caught Ulladulla Blue Mackerel.
Once written off as bait.
Now celebrated by some of Australia's finest chefs.
Proof that the future of Australian seafood doesn't always lie in chasing the rarest species.
Sometimes it's about rediscovering what's been swimming beneath us all along.
One man.
One rod.
One reel.
One fish.
Sometimes, that's all it takes to change an industry.
CATCHERS
"We don't catch fish for volume—we catch fish for quality. Astakos understands that difference, and that's why we're proud to work together."⎯ Craig Lukey, Sou'East Seafoods
CREATORS
