Whale Carcass Buried On Tweed Coast Beach

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

Last Friday, the badly decayed carcass of a humpback whale washed ashore on the Tweed Coast.

The carcass, which measured approximately ten metres in length, beached itself south of Black Rocks, which is itself just south of Pottsville. The alarm was quickly raised with community Facebook pages and shark warning site Bitemetrix alerting the public to the potential of feeding sharks. Ronnie Vickery from Bitemetrix said there was an increased risk for bull shark, tiger shark, and white shark.

The carcass was on land managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), meaning it was their job to  dispose of it. The three choices available to them are: towing it back out to sea, transporting it from the beach to landfill, or burying the carcass in situ. After assessing the situation, the NPWS yesterday chose to bury the carcass in the beach foredune - see image below.

This decision has, unsurprisingly, caused a stir among surfers and beach users on the Tweed Coast. The carcass is buried approximately twenty metres from the tide line in an area that was eroded in August - the lack of established flora betraying the recent erosion. The potential for the carcass to leach into the water table is unacceptably high, according to a petition created today.

The same petition notes the south-to-north longshore drift and how it would spread decomposing whale matter from an admittedly isolated area north to more popular surf spots and beaches.

The NPWS haven't made known why they chose to bury the carcass, though the 'out of sight, out of mind' approach is the simplest and cheapest method of disposal. However, it can also end up being the more costly, laborious, and repulsive method when community opposition forces the issue.

In 2016, a sperm whale was exhumed at Casuarina Beach, also on the Tweed Coast, after locals voiced their concern at Tweed Council for burying it in the foredune. Then in 2017, buried whales were exhumed at Ballina and Port Macquarie following similar public backlash about attracting sharks.

A 2019 study ostensibly disproved the theory of sharks being attracted to buried whale carcasses, yet it also acknowledged that beach conditions can't be generalised. The study's author, James Tucker, suggested the burial site needs to be "far enough up the beach so that no very large spring tide is going to inundate it."

Comments

rj-davey's picture
rj-davey's picture
rj-davey Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:05pm

If they had buried it further up into the dunes another group would have complained about the flora being irreparably damaged. If it was dragged out to sea there would be complaints about the cost and attracting noahs.

While the battle may rage between AFL and NRL, they remain secondary to our true national sport here of whinging.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:13pm

Whinging about whinging.

I hope you appreciate the irony here.

rj-davey's picture
rj-davey's picture
rj-davey Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:19pm

haha thus reinforcing my own point no? I'm as Aussie as the next bloke ;)

i guess it's as circular as intolerance of intolerance

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:16pm

Stuff is leeching out already
How can they think this practice is a great idea ?

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:19pm
Norris's picture
Norris's picture
Norris Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:52pm

It'd be good to see more coverage of Tucker's work, as he's done a lot more on it than almost anyone, including on the factors driving community expectations, since the 2019 studies:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352485521002097

"We surveyed community perception of the disposal of whale carcasses and the factors influencing public opinion. Overall, the community underestimated carcass disposal costs, and considered nonviable methods (oceanic tow and carcass recycling) as their preferred options. Responses were divided into two groups: (1) those previously aware of this management issue, and (2) those unaware. The ‘aware’ group was polarised with strong opinions about the safety of beach burial and its influence on shark attraction. The source of information for respondents drove perceptions with personal opinion being the highest, followed by media, perceived natural processes, and research in the aware group. Expert opinion, and common management practice were the lowest ranked information sources suggesting a lack of access to reliable information, or a disconnect between experts and the external community. Surprisingly, 27.8% of respondents would not change their opinion based on research, emphasising the complexity of the issue and of the relationship between managers and the public."

I'm guessing Swellnet fits into "media" and anyone with any experience here would not use the word "surprisingly" to open that last sentence.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 2:47pm

I'm going to needs some more data for my studies.
Wow that reads quite complicated
Must use big words
Tromp on people with complicated vernacular
Yes I need more data for my data # Facts.....

Jono's picture
Jono's picture
Jono Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 1:57pm

Another good chance to post this vid:

Ted from the moon's picture
Ted from the moon's picture
Ted from the moon Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 2:37pm

I watched them bury a whale just south of Dixon Surf Club (Newy) around 2007 from memory. They told me that it was standard practice - cheaper, simplest & quickest solution. A big crowd gathered. Was almost like a community event. All over fairly quickly (an hour or so from memory). Can not recall any negative consequences over the next 18 mths that I was living in Merewether. But this is just a single observation statistic - no science - nothing more. Sharks were also not really on my radar back in those days.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 2:43pm

They like to sleep at pogos at night.
Half the hunter river used to run out there also way back when .
According to my late grandfather.
It was a different time .

tubeshooter's picture
tubeshooter's picture
tubeshooter Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 2:38pm

NPWS doesn't like spending money on anything except new Landcruisers.
They'll be back in 2 weeks.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 2:44pm

Ha.

rj-davey's picture
rj-davey's picture
rj-davey Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 2:56pm

While camping recently at a certain north coast campground I noted the NPWS ranger was accepting cashies from punters who arrived without a booking and wanted a cheeky site. That bloke seemed to understand the value of a dollar.

pigdog's picture
pigdog's picture
pigdog Wednesday, 30 Oct 2024 at 3:11pm

does mash patato really need a dash of milk with the butter when mashing....