Legislation passed by Berkeley City Council last week prohibits awarding live fish, like goldfish and betta fish, as prizes at fairs and carnivals.

The ordinance also stipulates that fish cannot be used as an "inducement to enter any contest, game or other competition." Those who disobey the legislation will be cited and possibly fined, said council member Kriss Worthington, who sponsored the bill.

Some city council members cried foul at the fish proposal, Worthington said, but they voted unanimously in favor of the bill after learning California law already prohibits giving away live chicks, rabbits and other fowl.

"We are just adding fish to the fowl legislation," said Worthington.

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Worthington's former intern Simone Stevens, a high school student at Head-Royce School in Oakland, wrote and researched the bill.

Many high school and college students write ordinances, resolutions and council items in Worthington's office, the councilman said. Twenty years ago, the practice was considered controversial, he said, but in his two decades on Berkeley City Council, interns have written hundreds of pieces of legislation.

"My proudest achievement is empowering so many students to learn how to take their ideas and translate them into reality," he said, adding that all legislation is highly vetted and edited.

As for the new ordinance, Worthington said Stevens "cares deeply about animals" and was inspired by a PETA investigation highlighting the "inhumane" treatment of goldfish.

Without "ownership investment," Worthington said, carnival fishes sometimes end up being thrown away or left by the side of the road.

"If you give them away," he said, "they often die or are mistreated."

Fish prizes aren't a major problem in Berkeley, Worthington admitted, but he hopes the ordinance acts as model legislation for other cities.

Read Michelle Robertson’s latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.