Lucky Star
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 12 sources
South African canned pilchard brand owned by Oceana Group.
Until Lucky Star traces its fish and seafood to the boat or farm and has the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked independently, it can't show that they are free and fairly paid.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It relies on fish and seafood that it can't trace to the boat or farm. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace it and check the conditions of the people who catch or farm it.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in Thailand, China and Vietnam.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Lucky Star's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Lucky Star is canned at Oceana's own canneries on South Africa's West Coast, chiefly St Helena Bay, where Laaiplek's Amawandle work moved in 2026. Local pilchards come from purse-seiners; the rest is frozen fish imported from countries such as Morocco and Thailand (40,083 tonnes in 2025) from suppliers it does not name. Oceana's Namibian associate Etosha Fishing cans imported Moroccan pilchards; whether it packs Lucky Star is not stated. Oceana's supplier code bans forced labour and it applies ILO C188 to its crews, but it publishes no vessel list or crew audits, and its MSC certificates cover hake and menhaden, not pilchards. It is sold in southern Africa.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Business Report reported an indefinite FAWU strike by more than 2,000 workers at the Lucky Star and Amawandle plants in August 2025 over union facilities and a seasonal allowance. View |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- In August 2025 more than 2,000 workers at Lucky Star's Western Cape plant began an indefinite FAWU strike, saying Oceana removed the full-time shop steward post and union office and replaced a seasonal allowance without agreement; Oceana said the union office stays open (Business Report, 2025). Source
- Workers at the St Helena Bay cannery told The Namibian in 2026 that they received no pay or support during a 2025 production stoppage and faced six to eight months without income as fish shortages halted canning; Oceana said no workers would be affected (The Namibian, 2026). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 12
Show all 12 sources
- Pilchard imports secure Oceana's Namibian ops until end of 2019 (Undercurrent News, 2018) · search the archive · Oceana's Namibian operations at Walvis Bay, the country's last cannery, run on frozen pilchard from North Africa
- Oceana imports pilchards to beat local shortage (Business Report / IOL, 2016) · search the archive · Frozen pilchards imported from countries such as Morocco and Thailand and processed at St Helena Bay and Laaiplek, South Africa
- Oceana disputes Lucky Star closure (The Namibian, June 2026) · search the archive · Amawandle operations moved from Laaiplek to Lucky Star in St Helena Bay; quota fully caught and imported frozen fish scarce
- OCG audited group results for the year ended 30 September 2025 (NSX) · search the archive · Local canneries produced 5.0 million cartons in 2025, using local pilchard landings and frozen fish imports
- Fish shortages hit Lucky Star as Oceana struggles to meet demand (BusinessDay, Sept 2026) · search the archive · Frozen fish shortages cut local canning output by 60% in the 11 months to August 2026
- Pilchard-starved cannery on brink of collapse (The Namibian, 2021) · search the archive · Etosha Fishing, Namibia's oldest cannery, kept about 800 jobs going with imported Moroccan pilchards
- Lucky Star workers down tools against unilateral workplace changes at Oceana (Business Report, Aug 2025) · search the archive · Over 2,000 workers struck over shop steward post, union office and seasonal allowance; Oceana's response
- Lucky Star, Amawandle shutdown rattles South African workers (The Namibian, 2026) · search the archive · Workers say they got no pay during a 2025 stoppage and fear months without income; Oceana says no workers affected
Published by Lucky Star or its owner
- Oceana Group Sustainability Report 2025 · search the archive · Lucky Star Foods runs five canneries incl. St Helena Bay; 40,083 t frozen fish bought in 2025; 3,637 employees; MSC covers hake and Gulf menhaden; ILO C188 cited for crews
- Lucky Star: About us · search the archive · Lucky Star supplements local supply with the same pelagic species from fisheries elsewhere in the world; sold to South African shoppers
- Oceana Group Human Rights Statement (2022) · search the archive · Aims to keep child, forced and trafficked labour out of its value chain; ILO Work in Fishing Convention applies to its seafarers
- Code of Conduct for Oceana Suppliers (v4, 2020) · search the archive · Supplier code bans forced and bonded labour and retention of identity papers; no audit process described
Company details
- Owned by
- Oceana Group (South Africa)
- Headquarters
- South Africa
- Employees
- About 3,637
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Lucky Star ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/lucky-star, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Lucky Star.