Authorities will attempt to remove a humpback whale carcass from Bells Beach this morning as both Bells and Winkipop remain closed over fear sharks may be attracted to the area.
The heavily decomposed carcass was first spotted on Sunday morning during a Torquay Boardriders Club pointscore competition. The discovery prompted the immediate closure of all the nearby breaks.
(Photo Dean Snow)
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) will use machinery to remove as much of the carcass as possible from the beach. However, DEECA coastal management officer Alex Lines said the carcass broke apart overnight, leaving remains strewn along the beach and also around to Winkipop.
“We won’t be able to get to it due to the lack of access,” Lines said of the remains washed to Winkipop. “We will have to play that by ear as to whether it washed up somewhere else or goes out to sea.”
(Photo Dean Snow)
Till the clean-up operation is completed, signs have been installed to warn surfers about the danger.
In September 2018, a humpback whale washed up at nearby Ocean Grove. It was initially buried in the sand, though later exhumed after a public backlash about the carcass leaching oils into the surf and attracting sharks.