City councilman wants to ban the sale of bluefin tuna

One fish, two fish, out with “blue” fish.

A city councilman who formerly pushed the state to pass a law banning the sale of shark fins is now angling to aid another at-risk breed — bluefin tuna.

Alan Maisel (D-Brooklyn) is set to introduce a measure on Tuesday that would ban the sale in New York City of any tuna “advertised or labeled” as bluefin – a delicacy that’s largely confined to high-end restaurants.

Medium fatty bluefin tuna is a delicacy at Sushi Katsuei in Brooklyn.Photo: Zandy Mangold

“The problem with the bluefin tuna is that about 90 percent of the stock is depleted,” Maisel told The Post. “The population needs to have a chance to recover.”

Before joining the City Council this year, Maisel led the charge against shark fin sales in 2013 as a member of the state assembly.

The law that went into effect on July 1 this year threatens violators across the state with up to 15 days in jail and $ 100 in fines for each fish.

Maisel said it was environmentalists familiar with his work on that bill that came to him with the troubling facts on the status of bluefin tuna.

“The city doesn’t have jurisdiction over this in terms of fishing, but the city does have jurisdiction over what can or can’t be sold,” he said.

In recent years, popular Manhattan restaurants such as Nobu, Blue Fin and Masa have at times featured bluefin tuna on their menus.

Tuna on display at the world famous Tsukiji market in Tokyo.Photo: Reuters

Asked about the availability of bluefin on Monday, a reservationist at Nobu said it was served seasonally, while a maitre D at Blue Fin restaurant would only confirm serving “sushi-grade” tuna.

A receptionist at the bar affiliated with Masa in Columbus Circle confirmed that bluefin is on the menu.

Seafood guru Eric Ripert, executive chef at Le Bernadin, said he hasn’t served bluefin tuna at his midtown mecca for a number of years.

But he said an alternate solution to banning its sale would have been to label the fish’s origin – to distinguish between parts of the world where it’s endangered and parts where it’s not.

“If there’s no labeling, then maybe it’s a good idea to give the fish a break,” he said. “If we see a quick recovery, I’m sure everyone will be happy that it happened.” recover.”

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