THE decomposing carcass of a stranded humpback whale has attracted sharks to Finger Point near Port MacDonnell.
Surfers and beachgoers have been warned not to enter the water at Finger Point and cautioned against approaching the dead whale, which was beached at the site in late June.
Grant District Council works manager Adrian Shutz said the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) had placed warning signs in the area after residents had expressed concern about the potential danger.
“We had a few calls from residents and we discussed the need for warning signs at our June meeting,” Mr Shutz said.
“We passed on those concerns to DEWNR and they have put up the signs in the last week or so, but I think they always intended to put up warning signs.”
Mr Shutz said the 9m carcass seemed to be decomposing at a steady rate.
“I was out here two weeks ago and today the carcass seems smaller – it seems to be decomposing quite well,” he said.
“The stomach is sunken in and slowly being washed out to sea and there are plenty of birds around feeding on it.
“At this rate it might be vanished in a month or two, but it’s hard to say.”
Mr Shutz said while Grant District Council had floated ideas about removing the whale, it would be simpler to let nature take its course.
“It would be really difficult to get the necessary machinery on the beach to move the whale,” he said.
“I contacted Gambier Earth Movers and they agreed the logistics of it would be unrealistic.
“Even if we were able to get the carcass off the beach, I don’t know how we would go about disposing of it.”
He said as the beach was not frequented during winter the mammal would be left to decompose naturally.
“There was some talk about dragging the whale back out to sea but I’m not sure how that would go as the water is quite shallow around the reef,” he said.
“If it were dragged out by boat I imagine it would need to be taken right out deep so it didn’t wash up again near the breakwater.
“For now we are just going to let the whale decompose naturally and we urge the public not to enter the water and to maintain a safe distance.”
