A 40kg bluefin tuna hanging from a hoist at a Devonport car wash has caught plenty of attention on the north-west coast this week.
Patrick Dearing, assistant manager of a petrol station on William Street, looked up during his shift to find a group of fishermen cleaning their boat, with their freshly caught tuna hanging alongside it.
“The boys came in with a large boat and they were trying to clean the boat,” Dearing said.
“Next thing… they’re raising about the 40 kilo bluefin tuna up on the hoist in the car wash bay.”
The group threw a rope around the tail of a bluefin tuna and hoisted it up at the car wash.
While the fish hung from the hoist, Dearing said the crew got to work cleaning out the boat.
“They’re jumping in and out of the boat, cleaning that and that just sat there as like a beautiful trophy for everyone to see,” he said.
Speaking to ABC Radio, Dearing said he was relieved the tuna was not put through the full car wash service.
“I’m glad they didn’t do the laser wash, so that would have been interesting for it to go through,” he said.
There may still be one lingering issue for anyone taking their car in for a wash afterwards.
“Not sure how the brush would smell today if someone’s cleaning their car today though,” Dearing said.
It is not the first big tuna to make headlines in Tasmania.
In April 2025, 18-year-old fisherman Jet Worsteling landed an 85kg bigeye tuna off St Helens during an Easter long weekend trip with family, believed to be the first of its kind recorded in Tasmanian waters.
