Three 3m shark sightings prompts calls for whale carcass to go while shire lets nature take its course

The rotten corpse of a whale washed up on a regional shire’s beach is drawing the attention of more than just sightseers, with three sharks spotted in nearby waters. On October 21, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development issued a shark advice for Preston Beach due to the presence of a dead whale on the beach. Despite the warning, Shire of Waroona president Mike Walmsley said the shire would not be removing the carcass, instead putting up signage to deter swimmers. The decision to leave the rotting animal was based on cost — Cr Walmsley said it would cost thousands of dollars to remove the carcass. However in the past week, DPIRD’s SharkSmart data has revealed three sharks — all more than 3m long — have been tagged and released just 50m from shore. On Monday, DPIRD officers tagged and released a 3.9m white shark and a 3.3m tiger shark from nearby waters, and nabbed a 3.5m tiger shark on Tuesday. Preston Beach resident and former Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray said he wanted to see the whale carcass removed because of the danger it attracted. “If this was lobbed at Scarborough Beach and was heading towards City Beach, do you think they’d just put a sign up and say no swimming?” he said. With the carcass moving steadily north in the past week, Mr Murray said there was no guarantee it would continue to do so — he was concerned it could wash back south towards the main entrance of the beach. “You can’t just ignore something like that when the sharks have been caught by the fisheries,” he said. The State Government’s position is that the land manager is responsible for removing carcasses. Cr Walmsley said the shire had removed whale carcasses in the past, but it cost more than $20,000. “There has been no support from the State Government around the disposal of the whale, the shire remains sort of responsible for what happens on the beach,” he said. “If they were happy to support and help pay for that process, that would be great. “We’ve been advocating for that for some time, but at this point, they’ve shown no support.” Cr Walmsley said the presence of sharks wasn’t surprising and they would likely help break down the remains of the whale faster. “I’m concerned that if people choose to swim near it — I wouldn’t think that would be a wise move,” he said. A DPIRD spokesperson said it conducted tagging operations yearly. “When possible, targeted tagging operations also occur near whale carcasses,” they said. “We urge water users to stay informed of shark activity information by checking the SharkSmart website, downloading the SharkSmart WA app or by following Surf Life Saving WA on X — It is important for the public to report any shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600.”