A beached whale causes a stir in any situation. The death of one of the massive cetaceans is not only heartbreaking, but can lead to practical issues as to what to do with the remains. In Illawarra, an Australian coastal region south of Sydney, the removal of a 25-ton sperm whale carcass caused an uproar, as residents say they did not receive enough warning that it would be passing by, thus putting them at risk.
The whale first washed up on rocks at Era Beach in the Royal National Park at the end of April. At that time, nearby beaches were closed, and Surf Life Saving NSW warned locals to stay out of the water because of safety risks. Due to the fact that there was no vehicle beach access, the carcass could not be directly removed by land. Instead, on Friday, it was towed by boat from Era to Wollongong’s Bellambi Boat Ramp. From there, it was taken out of the water and hauled to a local garbage dump. “The location, size and distances made it one of the most challenging operations of its kind,” NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Area Manager Brendon Neilly told 9 News.
However, many residents were not pleased with the way the removal was handled, saying that they received no advance warning of the passing carcass – and the associated risks from effectively chumming the waters. “We got out of the water and had a look, and sure enough, there was a tugboat towing a sizable whale carcass very close to where we were diving,” spearfisher Darren Bissett told ABC. Afterwards, he looked for any online warnings of the impending removal, and found nothing, which he called “absolutely ridiculous” and “negligent.”
Surf Life Saving Illawarra duty officer Anthony Turner told the outlet that his organization deployed drones after being notified of the carcass removal by local fishermen and found eight sharks within an hour, causing them to evacuate nearby beaches.
Among the affected beachgoers were local surfers, who were slated to compete in a local competition that had to be canceled. However, Woonona Boardriders president Marc Robson told ABC that he was more angry about the safety risks than the postponement of the event.
However, the Wollongong City Council responded with a statement saying that they had, in fact, informed residents. “[We] reached out to our key contacts on Friday morning about the whale retrieval to ensure they were aware of the operation once we were aware of the up-to-date timing,” the city said. In a social media post Friday, Wollongong City wrote “It’s anticipated we’ll see increased shark activity along our coastline between Stanwell Park and Bellambi Point today, and across the weekend, following the removal of the deceased whale from Era Beach in the Royal National Park.
“As the patrol season has wrapped up, there are no lifeguards on duty in this area. However, we recommend surfers, board riders and those who enjoy other in-water activities stay out of the water between Stanwell Park and Bellambi Point until at least early next week. ”
At a Sunday press conference for new shark safety devices, Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said, “I’m confident that the work was done in the way that it needed to be, but there’s always going to be learnings.”
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