Mustafa Sari was born to illiterate farmers who raised their six children near the Black Sea. As a child he excelled in his studies, and an interest in science earned him entrance into Ankara University. There he was influenced by the emerging field of sustainable fishery management. The model he developed for Lake Van was accepted as a blueprint by the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock for the management of all freshwater fisheries in Turkey. In 2002, his work was recognized by UNDP as one of the World’s Best Practices, and in 2004 he was awarded an Ashoka Fellowship. In 2011 he received the Science Award of the Year, from WBUMSF in Turkey.