What to do with Whale carcasses that wash up on beaches?
I’m definitely no expert on this matter and only have an opinion based on my own logical thinking which no doubt the experts will rip to pieces lol , anyway councils seem to favour dragging the carcass to shore then loading onto a truck then it’s off to the landfill dump. In my flawed logic I believe throwing a net around the carcass and dragging 20 klms out to see ( hopefully with sharks following ) then dumping it and let the sharks pig out . The council will say this will cause a shipping hazard but aren’t 50,000 live whales migrating up and down the east coast already a shipping hazard ? I’m sceptical about councils reasons and whoever has the contract must be doing ok . I asked our local member in tweed about some transparency in these accounts but the silence was deafening on his Facebook page . The cost for a trawler to drag it out would surely be cheaper and the bonus of luring some sharks offshore instead of hanging close to me with my thinking would be worth it . Hopefully some experts will enlighten me.
This has been discussed on here a few times.
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2018/11/22/buried-whale-...
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2020/10/15/issue-dead-an...
https://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2019/04/14/science-wheth...
A small one washed up overnight at Fairhaven (Vic). Given the dramas experienced a couple of years back at Ocean Grove, it's going to be interesting how this one is dealt with. It looks to be fairly decomposed. So might be tricky towing it to see. Also not a lot of space to bury it in dunes. Will report back later.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222407685733796&set=g.56117045474...
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1362069140796960&set=g.561170454744700
Parks Vic have an excavator coming down soon. Will cut it up and take it away. It has been drifting for the last few days. Not sure why they didn't just drag it out to sea while they had a chance. Also could have been a good way to tag some of the larger sharks around here.
Apparently towing not always the best option. Hazards to shipping, floating back to shore amongst other reasons. I like the idea of tagging sharks though.
Big one washed up on the Island. Dept. are planning to leave it alone.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/16-metre-sperm-whale-washes-...
That’s huge, going to be some big fish sniffing around.
going to take months to break down.......
Blow it up / cut it up. Sashimi?
my take-away from those grotesque visions, is a reminder of what an incredible world we live in, that those magnificent beasts evolved from pig-like land-dwelling creatures.
https://coconuts.co/bali/news/authorities-bury-dead-whale-shark-stranded...
This is a worldwide problem and affects surfers as well as others. Solutions are easy to speak about but difficult to implement. I read that say a few hundred years ago when whales were plentiful it was possible for some to essentially make a partial living from stranded carcasses (as was done when Europeans first settled in USA for example). Perhaps as whales repopulate...this problem will become more frequent. What should be done? Burial on the beach (scary). Towing out to sea (difficult and expensive). Landfill (difficult and expensive). Something else (what?)