source : the age
A humpback whale carcass that washed up on the shores of City Beach on Monday morning has now been removed, although the beach remains closed to the public until further notice to protect swimmers from shark activity in the area.
The 13-metre whale was discovered early Monday morning and began attracting sharks close to shore, with some identified as great white sharks at more than five metres long.
A large crane hired by the Town of Cambridge was on site on Thursday morning to assist with the removal of the deceased whale, which weighed 31 tonnes.
The crane was used after an excavator brought in on Wednesday was unable to safely lift the carcass.
Town of Cambridge mayor Gary Mack said the excavation operation would likely cost between $60,000 and $100,000, with the contractor to bury the carcass at Red Hill tip.
“The only other option was towing it out to sea and that’s not really endorsed by the government, and that’s because there’s difficulty in moving a 31-tonne object further out to sea, and also it can remain out there for quite some time, and it’s a shark attractant,” he said.
According to a Facebook post from the Town of Cambridge, a smoking ceremony was held at City Beach on Wednesday to “pay respects to the whale, as it was moved and prepared as part of the ongoing removal process”.
On Tuesday, drum lines dropped in the ocean near the whale caught two great white sharks, which were tagged and released.
Fisheries confirmed drum lines would not be deployed again despite Macquarie University Fish Lab spokesman Culum Brown saying the whale carcass could attract sharks to the area for weeks.
According to the state government’s SharkSmart website, a tagged white shark was detected Thursday morning near Scarborough.
The site also shows another whale carcass has been reported this week near Three Mile Beach north of Geraldton.
There have been concerns over recent shark attacks off WA’s coast after two people were attacked within a week.
Marmion local Greg O’Neill was swimming “very close to shore” at Sorrento Beach when he was pulled underwater by a large shark at approximately 10.30am on Friday, September 18.
Lifesavers raced to rescue the 63-year-old, but were unsuccessful in locating him.
Just days earlier a surfer who was attacked by a shark at a Geraldton beach was identified as local man Mel Ismail. He suffered serious leg injuries in the attack, but survived.
