Summertime Delight

Fresh, line-caught tuna, a late-summer delight, has been coming across the Montauk docks lately. Looking through the photos on our Instagram feed lately, we have been thrilled by images from the fish markets of fat yellowfin and bigeyes lined up on ice or cut into sushi-grade slabs on stainless-steel tables. Tuna labeled “local” might be suspiciously ubiquitous on South Fork restaurant menus, but right now we can be assured of the real deal, not something flown in from a probably unsustainable fishery in the distant Pacific.

According to seafood ratings from Oceana and other environmental organizations, bigeye and yellowfin tuna from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are a responsible choice from an environmental perspective. These species landed elsewhere and by less-discriminating methods, such as drift longlining in the western and central Pacific, are considered poor choices. Sadly, the delicious and once abundant bluefin is a no-go on most organizations’ seafood charts.

Most seafood markets now announce the country of origin along with the price per pound, and with good reason. In most cases, local is always better. And at this time of year, for the grill or eaten raw, you can’t get more local than a Montauk tuna.