Dead Whale Found On Mid North Coast Beach
Authorities are working to remove a fifteen-tonne humpback whale found dead at a popular beach on the NSW Mid North Coast. The ten-metre-long juvenile whale was discovered by a resident along Lighthouse Beach near Lake Cathie at 7am today.
National Parks and Wildlife Service are working with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council to remove the remains. NSW National Parks and Wildlife ranger Victoria Hickin said the cause of death may never be known.
"There's no cause of death evident, so we really don't know why it's died at the moment — we may never know. Sometimes these things are just natural causes," Ms Hickin said.
"With the numbers of humpbacks that we're seeing coming up the coast these days — it's a very healthy population — there's bound to be some natural mortalities along the way that we'll just never know the answers to."
The whale's tongue has swollen considerably since it was found this morning (Photo ABC Mid North Coast: Luisa Rubbo)
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's acting natural manager Ben White said the council planned on disposing of the carcass at the landfill facility near Port Macquarie. He said the council hoped to remove the carcass from the beach by lifting it on to a truck at low tide later today.
But Mr White said workers would have to carefully navigate the mammal's tongue, which has swelled to the size of a boulder.
"It's apparently a bit fragile so we'll be using kid gloves," Mr White said.
Ms Hickin said the animal was "fairly fresh, it's not falling apart, so hopefully they will be able to remove it in one piece".
The council plans to move the carcass to a landfill on a truck at low tide (Photo ABC Mid North Coast: Luisa Rubbo)
Ms Hickin took measurements and photos this morning but no samples and said an autopsy may not be able to be organised.
"In this instance, we'll have to say goodbye to the whale," she said. "It's very sad but we also see plenty of live ones, which give people enormous joy and pleasure."
This is believed to be the first incident of a humpback carcass being found along the east coast between Sydney and the Queensland border this year.
// LUISA RUBBO and SANDRA D MOON
Comments
Crazy tongue!!!
What happens with the carcass after being removed from the beach,?
Landfill most likely.
I doubt it will be the last one for the year either.
I've been hearing about a big spike in whale deaths and carcasses washing up in the U.S this year.
Blame is getting thrown all around the place for the mortality event, but a clear reason is yet to be found.
https://www.iflscience.com/whales-are-dying-along-the-east-coast-of-amer...
And here's some very recent drone footage of a GWS enjoying an all you can eat buffet off New York.
Thanks for the ifl science link TubeS
"In total, 191 whales have washed up dead in the last seven years across the east coast of the USA...."
according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Map: https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=f9eef8e52fc...
On the East Coast of USA, studies of whale carcasses found that shipping & nets (entanglement) was a major cause of death.
https://www.mmc.gov/wp-content/uploads/Update-on-Strandings-of-Large-Wha...
Marine Mammal Commission recommended slowing down ships..... as the juveniles hang in the coastal shipping lanes.
Microplastics seem to be an issue of concern based on studies of whale diets around some of the worlds oceans....
https://www.iflscience.com/whales-gulp-down-10-million-microplastic-part...
Science is based on evidence (data), so natural science studies can often be inconclusive.... unless you have put in ten years research like Charles Darwin & 1000s of others since he braved publishing his results despite the sceptics, politicians and... his parents.
Meanwhile.... we drag another body to the tip....
Any word on if it was a successful retrieval? i can't imagine it'd be at all easy, if at all even possible to load a 15 tonne whale onto the back of a truck on a soft sand beach and then drive the truck off the beach.
Apparently, last time the council used a 20T excavator with cutting shears and 2 Backhoes to fill skip bins, and then used 220T crane to haul the skip bins 60m off the beach. They also had liquid waste pumps and trucks involved.
Phwoaaaar!! That's insane! Sounds like a massive job.
Geez that'd put you off your burger at the Bonnie Hills Surf Club!
Lucky it's just outta eyesight.(maybe not sniff sight in a Northerly)
See. That's the sort of info you can only get on Swellnet.
Good on you Tubeshooter. Cheers!
Cheers southernraw.
The whale in question was actually buried on the beach and exhumed a week later after locals said 'fuck that shit'. Probably made the job a lot harder.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-25/whale-exhumed-and-removed-from-po...
As for your other thought about a truck removing it from the beach, I recall seeing large articulated 6X6 tip trucks with massive tyres doing beach erosion work in some pretty tricky conditions at Kingscliff years back. They were bringing boulders and extra sand in for the excavators to put in place. One of those things should be more than capable. I think they were 740b CATs or similar.
Fortunately that stretch of beach is predominantly an unsurfed closeout. Either way north and south is popular though and the Lighthouse receiver is the busiest GWS ping in Australia.
Feet up boys.
Would a shark be able to smell the whale from the landfill? Why don't they drag it out to sea?
I'm looking at places to live on the east coast when I come back to Australia and I like lots of spots from crescent to Yagon but jeez, it would have to be close to the sharkiest area in Oz. I don't care personally but having a young kid makes me think twice.
Also a crescent head back beach was the only place I've seen a shark in the water ever! Beautiful area though.
Chance of just washing back up at another beach?
Hi Jue, I think it's much harder to drag 10-15 tons of dead whale into the water than it is to dispose of by land. Heavy objects tend to get "sucked" or held onto by the sand in the surf. You just have to stand on the beach where the waves wash around your feet to see how quickly you sink into the sand.
Whales have opened a whole new highway on this stretch. Probably not unlike a lot of the coast. I can’t understand the slsc drones across,summer as the real numbers in the water start post their season. The early risers and surfers on open stretches know the real increase in numbers with the whale migration and it is a bit scary really. Gone are the days when surfers reply with….I’ve surfed for years and never seen. one. Now the norm and I’d say they’re coming in closer and more regularly than 10 years ago. That’s a fact particularly on open stretches and river mouths.
Totally agree Joakse, typical of the clubbies to fly their drones over the summer when the GWS aren't so prevalent. So many more GWS now when the whale migration is happening.Over the last 10 yrs or so has seen sightings increase expotentially with GWS seen on a regular basis when surfing around here now. No more dawn or dusk patrols & saftey in numbers cutting the odds??? Note that the Masters surf contest was abandoned last w/end due to GWS sharks patrolling the lineup! Yikes!!!
mmmm...sushi anyone?
Reminds me of this dynamiting attempt
That's pure gold. up there with the best Monty Python sketches.
"the blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds''
Ha - so glad it has found another aficionado; the clip is an all-time favorite: the journo is a comic genius and the absurd play out of the whale blubber blasting could never be written :)
Ha - so glad it has found another aficionado; the clip is an all-time favorite.
Hahahahahaha soooo good, thanks for sharing MutantPig.
Old skool!
"...because nobody wanted to cut it up" is absolutely the best reason for deciding to not cut it up
'The whale carcass debate'
"Current Australian management practices for stranded whale carcasses revolve around one of four responses. These include the carcass being left alone (on land or at sea), buried on the beach, towed out to sea or transported to a waste management plant. The management of whale carcasses can be quite complex, and each stranding presents significant social, logistic, economic and environmental challenges.
"Towing a whale carcass out to sea provides the most natural solution, allowing the animal to be cycled through the marine food chain. Being so high in fat, whale carcasses provide an extremely valuable food source for a whole range of animals that feed from the surface all the way down the water column to the ocean floor. In fact, my all-time favourite quote from a scientific publication describes two white sharks feeding at a whale carcass,
‘On July 5 at 1711 hrs, 7 sharks were simultaneously feeding on the whale. In this instance, two individuals were feeding at 1.5 m apart from one another. As one of the sharks continued to remove blubber, it worked its way along the flank of the whale, subsequently biting the head of the neighboring shark, leaving 2 teeth embedded in the shark’s head. However, neither of the sharks appeared to be affected by this interaction, as both continued to feed along the whale’s flank without any responsive behavior observed’ (Fallows et al., 2013).
"If this doesn’t paint a different picture of white sharks – and one of clear food bliss – I don’t know what does!
"The decomposition process of whale carcasses also occurs far more rapidly in the water than in the sand, and this process is less expensive than beach burial or transport to a waste facility. However, towing carcasses to sea does not often occur, amazingly, as this action is seen to present a potential navigation hazard for watercrafts, and the managers responsible for towing could be held liable.
"As a result, beach burial is being investigated as the most promising option. Anecdotal reports have suggested that shark prevalence in an area can increase following whale carcass burial, and this extends beyond white sharks. In particular, bull sharks are often noted in these environments. However, a recent study based on lab tests and a field trial with 360 kg of humpback whale blubber and muscle concluded that, if done properly, burying whales on the beach should not be considered to be a localised attractant for sharks.
"The study’s lead author, Southern Cross University PhD student James Tucker, said that he expected to see traces of contamination entering the water, but was surprised with how quickly the chemical traces disappeared, and the short distance that they migrated through the sand. While the study was careful to acknowledge that it did not cover all possible situations and scenarios of burial, the team believed that they had enough evidence to assist managers in developing beach burial as a safe, viable option into the future.
"While developing management plans, it is important to consider that sharks have very strong sensory capability, which, in many cases, outperform ours. It is also important to remember that our knowledge of their sensory capabilities is still quite rudimentary. With having such limited understanding in this space, it is difficult for us to know exactly what and how they are sensing, discriminating and honing in on cues that are important to them in their environment. It would also be good to know how long sharks tend to stick around an area after a whale carcass has stranded, so that beaches can be managed as needed during this period. As such a valuable food item, it is assumed that sharks would be very motivated to get to the source and may spend a considerable amount of time trying to do so.
"Presently, it seems that there is little communication to the public around stranded and buried whale carcasses. Carcass disposal is left to regional councils/managers, and as a result, bespoke processes are seen. Unfortunately, responses do not always seem to consider scientifically developed recommendations or best practice, and inappropriately buried whales have had to be exhumed and otherwise disposed of following public backlash and potential environmental and even human health concerns.
"In line with many shark risk management surveys, the general public most often just wants more information in order to make informed decisions about how they use the water. Therefore, it seems that public notification and appropriate signage at locations of stranded and buried whale carcasses is the most obvious and actionable immediate management strategy. Given the recently published projection that the eastern Australian humpback whale population may peak between the years 2021 and 2026, and then potentially experience significant subsequent declines, further optimising management strategies that consider the possibility of a large number of carcasses is warranted. It is great to see that research in this area has already begun!"
"However, towing carcasses to sea does not often occur, amazingly, as this action is seen to present a potential navigation hazard for watercrafts, and the managers responsible for towing could be held liable."
Wonder if maritime law includes the recouping the cost of impacts from all adrift human debris; shipping containers, shipping rubbish, exotic bilge, fishing nets, asylum seekers (refer to PM John.Howard), etc
Just hitch a saddle to it and ride it out to sea.
Had a walk up North Head yesterday evening, saw the most whales I've ever seen.
A few pods of 4-6 moving north and you could scan the horizon and see little water spouts popping off intermittently all over.
Story yesterday on ABC radio had an estimation number of 40,000 on the ‘whale highway ‘.
40,000! Jeezus.
40 000 Whales vs 25 000 000 people. 4 whales per 2500 people. A bio mass ratio would be interesting. Last time I checked whales are not responsible for fucking over the planet.
agreed, odontocete whales are not responsible, but those baleen fuckers have a lot to answer for
I was surprised they managed to get the dead small beaked whale off the rocks at Lennox last October.
Still a large animal in a very awkward spot.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-25/surfers-discover-rare-beaked-whal...
I remember seeing a film clip of a carcass being transported through a town on a truck I think it was Japan,it explodes smack bang in the middle of town.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4096586
Holy moly!!
That's insane.
And that last line is a little,..errr....unsettling.
Hahaha.
might be the one at the end of the montage posted by roadkill in the 'what to do with whale carcasses' thread?
https://www.swellnet.com/comment/899819
Looks like they loaded it up yesterday arvo.
ABC updated the original article with a short video of it being slinged onto the back of a truck.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-05/dead-whale-found-on-popular-nsw-m...
Over in Africa they have a different approach to the problem.
26th May A rare blue whale sighting in the waters off Terrigal NSW
"They're very rare and there's only been six sightings on the east coast of Australia in the last hundred years,"
3rd June 2023 Whale entangled off Port Kembla NSW
https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/8220456/humpback-whale-freed-after...
6th June 2023 Whale entangled off Central Coast NSW
"Researchers say a record number of humpback whales are heading north along Australia's eastern coastline, after another whale was entangled off New South Wales. "
"Mr Bayley said the whale was caught in a SMART drumline."
It is the second reported whale entanglement in the past week off the New South Wales coast.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-06/rescuers-entangled-humpback-whale...