There’s a food festival this month where you can compete in tuna throwing

Nicoise fans may have enjoyed a tossed tuna salad or two over the years, but throwing the entire fish is a totally different ball game. Given that most of us are drilled never to play with our food, such an activity might seem extremely ill-advised, not to mention cruel. As it turns out, everyone else doesn’t necessarily have the same foibles. 

As part of a seafood celebration that’s been going on for 59 years the town of Port Lincoln in South Australia has a unique way of honouring one of the world’s most popular fish. Alongside sensational food stalls and cooking masterclasses, the Tunarama festival offers audiences one thing that they can’t see anywhere else – a competition to decide who can throw a tuna the furthest. 

Check out some highlights from the 2016 contest here:

According to the Tunarama website:

“The highlight of the Festival is the famous Tuna Toss competition. ‘Have a go’ at tossing a tuna for your chance to win the Tuna Toss World Championship. Competitors travel from around the globe to see who can throw these 10Kg fish the farthest. With big cash rewards and a unique trophy, this is one item for anyone’s bucket list.”

As any violent fishmonger will tell you, throwing dead fish around has the potential to get messy pretty quickly. However, worried spectators and animal lovers can rest easy, as the real creatures were actually replaced with 10kg rubber replicas in 1979. 

Though the throwing is undoubtedly the highlight of the event, it certainly isn’t the only thing on offer. Seafood aficionados can tuck into an array of tasty dishes from the festivals many stalls showcasing the best of the Eyre Peninsula’s food and wine. Even if flinging fish isn’t quite your cup of tea, there are clearly plenty of reasons to head to Tunarama.