{"id":945785,"date":"2026-10-30T00:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T00:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/945785\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T00:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T00:58:20","slug":"perth-locals-reveal-thoughts-about-swimming-this-summer-after-several-whale-carcasses-wash-up-on-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/945785\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth locals reveal thoughts about swimming this summer after several whale carcasses wash up on beaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cottesloe locals and visitors are feeling hesitant to dip their toes back in the ocean this summer, after a string of rotting whale carcasses have washed up on Perth beaches in weeks,<\/p>\n

The remains of a juvenile whale washed ashore at South Cottesloe\u2019s Dutch Inn Beach at 6.15am on Thursday last week, prompting the council to close local beaches for about 24 hours due to the threat it would attract sharks..<\/p>\n

This followed a 31-tonne humpback found on South City Beach last month, which lured sharks just 10 metres from the shore. On Sunday, another dead whale was spotted washed up on Sorrento Beach, causing Joondalup beaches to close.<\/p>\n

Dozens showed up at Cottesloe Beach to check out the scene last Thursday, and while some were ready take the plunge back into the ocean, others are feeling nervous heading into summer.<\/p>\n

Cottesloe local Ray Worth was heading down for his morning dip when he noticed the beach was closed, glanced to his left and saw the whale carcass.<\/p>\n

He said he wasn\u2019t particularly concerned, and would be getting back in the ocean as soon as the beaches reopened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of adequate advice, the shark alarms going as we\u2019ve heard earlier this morning, and just being aware,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI swim here every day, as I came this morning I was just about to jump in, but then I thought, no, no … better not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CottesloeCamera IconCottesloe local Ray Worth swims at the beach regularly. Credit: Eliana Hullett<\/p>\n

Mr Worth said he didn\u2019t mind the shark barrier being closed as an \u201cextra bit of caution\u201d to observe the risks.<\/p>\n

Claire Graham, who was on holiday in WA with her kids, was heading for a beach walk further south when they heard about the whale from locals.<\/p>\n

\"MotherCamera IconMother Claire Graham is on holiday in Perth from Singapore with her kids Beatrix, 10, Elsa, 12, and Rupert, 7. Credit: Eliana Hullett<\/p>\n

Ms Graham didn\u2019t feel keen for a swim herself, and said it was a good idea to close the beaches just in case.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think (shark barriers) probably do work generally if there are less sharks in the area, but when there\u2019s more bait in the water, I imagine it\u2019s probably the right idea,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s better that we stay out of the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her 12-year-old daughter Elsa agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to risk anything. You just have to be aware of what\u2019s in the water before you go out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mosman Park sisters Eloise and Amelia Rose Jones said the thought of the whale attracting more sharks was a little concerning, but they understand the risks when they swim at the beach.<\/p>\n

\"SistersCamera IconSisters Eloise Jones and Amelie Rose Jones from Mosman Park. Credit: Eliana Hullett<\/p>\n

\u201cSwimming in the ocean, I\u2019m kind of already aware that it\u2019s a shark\u2019s territory, so I kind of swim with the risk of knowing that potentially a shark could maybe gobble me up, but very unlikely,\u201d Amelie Rose said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with the whales coming into shore, it definitely does direct the attention of the sharks … it is a bit of a worry, but I\u2019m just not going to stress at this point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sisters said it made sense to close the shark barrier swimming area as a precaution, because there had been instances in the past of small sharks and other marine life getting through.<\/p>\n

As for getting back in the ocean, Eloise said it wouldn\u2019t happen \u201cany time soon\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a couple of weeks, probably, just \u2018cause all the shark alarms, there\u2019s a lot around, so we\u2019ll probably just give it a couple weeks, but we\u2019ll definitely be going back for a swim,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Zac Thompson moved to Peppermint Grove just over a year ago from Ireland, and said he wasn\u2019t used to the shark sightings back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have sharks or anything like that, so it\u2019s pretty safe to swim. I would have already been a bit cagey about swimming, but this obviously makes it a lot worse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"PeppermintCamera IconPeppermint Grove resident Zac Thompson at South Cottesloe Beach. Credit: Eliana Hullett<\/p>\n

Mr Thompson said he would swim in the shark barrier, but planned to be \u201cpretty cautious\u201d for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll probably just not go in for a while, and once everyone else gets a bit bolder and braver, I\u2019ll go in a bit shallower,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

East Fremantle resident Steve Green is a member of the Cottesloe Longboard Club and surfs along the beaches regularly. The club hosts regular competitions at Cottesloe Beach, and has seen whales wash up on the shore for years.<\/p>\n

\"EastCamera IconEast Fremantle resident Steve Green. Credit: Eliana Hullett<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of life, but is a concern that stops people from heading into the water accordingly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne (shark) got in (the barrier) last year, so they\u2019ve closed it as a precaution.\u201d<\/p>\n

All Cottesloe beaches reopened the following day on Friday morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cottesloe locals and visitors are feeling hesitant to dip their toes back in the ocean this summer, after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":945786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,505,14660,44,46,128,45,506,59543,338],"class_list":["post-945785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-central","tag-community-news","tag-news","tag-perth","tag-science","tag-wa-news","tag-western-suburbs","tag-western-suburbs-weekly","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=945785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/945786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}