A Wollongong City councillor is demanding a review after a decomposing sperm whale carcass was towed 20 kilometres along the coast, attracting sharks and catching fishers, surfers and divers unaware. Greens councillor Jess Whittaker described the operation as 'clumsy and poorly communicated', saying the community was placed in an unfair situation and the whale was not treated with the respect it deserved.
The carcass, estimated at 20 to 25 tonnes and eight metres long, was discovered on April 25 on a rock platform at Era Beach in the Royal National Park. Due to lack of vehicle access, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) engaged a contractor to tow it to Bellambi boat ramp, where it was broken apart and loaded into skip bins for disposal at Whytes Gully waste facility.
NPWS said the operation was planned around tides and that towing the carcass out to sea was not feasible as it would create a shipping hazard and could wash ashore elsewhere. The agency consulted the local Aboriginal community and identified Bellambi boat ramp as the most suitable extraction point based on advice from Wollongong City Council.
However, local spear fisher Darren Bissett said he and his dive buddy were unaware the carcass was being towed just 500 metres away, bringing feeding sharks. They were warned by a commercial diver who intercepted radio chatter, not by authorities. Bissett said he saw multiple sharks near the carcass at the boat ramp, while nearby locals were swimming and surfing at Bellambi rock pool.
SharkSmart reported that a shark was observed at Bellambi beach at 11am on the day of the towing, leading to water evacuation and beach closure. The ABC reported 16 sharks were sighted in the area over the weekend, including a bull shark at Woonoona Point and a 3.73-metre tiger shark tagged and released at Corrimal beach.
Whittaker called for a government review in collaboration with all agencies involved, citing a failure to warn people in the water and a lack of any media plan. She also raised concerns about worker safety and equipment used to lift the whale, which failed and instead broke the carcass apart, causing a significant slick of burley.
